I learned to embroider when I was a kid, when everyone was really into cross stitch (remember the '80s?). Eventually, I migrated to surface embroidery, teaching myself with whatever I could get my hands on...read more

I learned to embroider when I was a kid, when everyone was really into cross stitch (remember the '80s?). Eventually, I migrated to surface embroidery, teaching myself with whatever I could get my hands on...read more

End of the Year Give-Away: Embroidery Kit and Needlework Accessories

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With 2010 slipping away in a couple days, I thought it a good time to have one final give-away for the year – and to liven it up a bit, I’ve added a few little dandy things. Of course, there’s an embroidery kit (I promised I’d give away another Trish Burr kit last time I gave one away!), and to top it off, I’ve added a few little needlework accessories to the package:

Don’t you think that needlework accessories are an important part of your hand embroidery endeavors? Golly, I do. Little accessories and tools are a pitfall for me. They make embroidery even more pleasurable, because often they’re not only useful, but beautiful, too! Some day, I’d like to have a gorgeous “etui” to store tools and accessories in. I just love things like that.

But I suppose I’m getting wistfully side-tracked. It’s always safer not to mention accessories to me….

Compliments of Trish Burr, I’m also giving away one of her needlepainting kits:

You might notice that this is just like the kit I gave away at the end of November, so if you didn’t win it then, you have another chance, lucky duck! Now you can follow through with your New Year’s resolution to try needlepainting!

So, today’s give-away includes the needlepainting kit above (which comes with the design preprinted on fabric, all the threads, and instructions), as well as a little collection of needlework accessories from my workbox. All of them are made by Kelmscott Designs – there’s a peacock magnetic needleminder, a butterfly threadwinder, two large thread rings, a 6-slot thread keep, a small thread ring, and three little heart-shaped thread rings.

The thread keeps, rings, and winder are all made from mother-of-pearl, and they are very pretty additions to the hand embroiderer’s workbox.

If you’d like to win this give-away, please follow these guidelines:

1. Leave a comment below on this post on the website (not via e-mail, not on any other post). Folks who receive the blog post in their daily e-mail will need to visit this blog post on the website to leave a comment.
2. Make sure you use a recognizable name to identify your comment!
3. In your comment, answer one of the following questions:

What is your favorite needlework accessory or tool and why? OR What accessory would you like to have, if you could have any needlework accessory on the market today, and why?

4. Leave your comment before 5:00 am CST on Monday, January 3rd. I’ll announce the winner on Monday, and the winner will need to contact me with a mailing address, so make sure you check back on Monday to see if you’ve won!

Note:Unless you want to read every incoming comment on the give-away post, please make sure that the little box under “Submit Comment” is NOT checked. If it is checked, you’ll end up getting everyone’s comments in your e-mail inbox, and then you’ll end up being irritated with me, which will make me sad….

(539) Comments

Thank you for all the magnificant tips and technigues you share daily. I eagerly anticipate your newsletter and glean daily from your knowledge.
The acessory I would like to have is a magnifying light. Age seems to play tricks with the eyesight.

My word, how difficult is it to choose one item! I guess my Ezi-Frame from Australia would be hard to replace – but then the Susan Bates hoops are also great…..
But, the truth be known, my hands and sight are what enable me to stitch, be it embroidery, beading or teddy bears, I thank God for these gifts daily. Being deaf, I know what it is like to loose something you take for granted and treasure the gifts I still have!
Blessings for an healthy productive 2011 and thanks for your amazing blog!
Hugz
Moz

Oh Mary, What a generous gift to give away. I still want one of these so here goes. Tools I would love to have, well there are so many, a laying tool and well I would also love the thread keeps they are such an elegant way of keeping thread… functional and beautiful all at the same time. Happy New Year to you! 🙂

My favorite needlework tool has to be little boxes. I love organizing my thread, pins, needles, and fabric in the boxes or Ziploc bags while I work on them. It keeps me from things being scattered from hell to breakfast, which would be the case otherwise. I’m not big into thread winders, though I’ve become a fan of needle minders. Laying tools are another thing I collect – though I look at hair sticks. I buy them at artisan fairs and such, and they’re in all kinds of wood. I also collect beeswax. Where ever I go, I look for a beekeeper and ask for some. It’s different in every country. So far, I have some from France, Bulgaria, Uruguay, and Kosovo. But I still like being able to organize my projects best.

The tool I would love, and don’t have, in my toolbox? A beautiful wooden awl to use with laying threads properly. Why? I have read that it is an essential tool for use with silk threads, and I have put off working with silk because I don’t have this tool, and am perhaps a little intimidated, too, by the idea of working with silk. I think there is a lot of technique to master there.

My needlework tool if one can call it a tool, that I would not like to be without and which I find especially as I get older and my eyesight fades somewhat, is my magnifying light. I was only recently able to afform one but this light is wonderful and is on a stand which makes things so much easier. The tools in the giveaway are unavailable to us in Africa so it would be a wonderful treat to win them.
Pam L

I think my favorite tool I use is my magnetic needle holder. I never have to worry that I am going to lose my needle in my chair because my magnetic needle holder makes sure it stays where it belongs when not in use. The tool that I would like to have is the Vusion light and magnifer that attaches to most hoops or can be used free standing. As I age I find a little magnification and light are important to keep me enjoying the craft.

Mary I hope you have a wonderful New Year and I wish many blessings for you. I guess the accessory I would love to have would be a frame. I have not yeat gotten one and I just think my stitching would come out so much more prettier and taut if I did. But it is on my wish list!!!! I would love to win your give-a-way. Thanks for a year of learning. Sharon

One of the accessories I don’t have and need
is a needle minder! I am forever finding my
embroidery needles stuck into my doiles on my endtables where I was stitching! It is a bad habit for sure!! I have not seen anything like them here where I live. What a great idea!
My favorite accessory is my thread rings. They are a blessing to keep my threads in an organized manner! But my needles, I was considering my lampshades!!!! That was vetoed pretty quick!!! Help!

Dear Mary.
Thank you for the mails i receive from you.
They are always a lesson for me.
I have many needlework accessory’s.
My needles en pincusions.
My sissors and treadwinders.
but I have not a needlemagnet.
Maby I am lucky and win the give away.
Any way it is lovely that you do this.
Happy new year.
Trudy from the Netherlands.

Wow!!! Each contest gets better and better.
I think my favorite tool is my laying tool. It just helps me add polish to my stitching. The threads lay down so smoothly and really makes the finished product look great. It is a tool I splurged on and is a work of art on its own.

Being fairly new to embroidery after a number of years away from it, I guess I really don’t have a favorite accessory, unless I mention my pretty little, gold Gingher scissors DH gave me for Christmas. Or the hoop on a sit-on stand that makes bullions so much easier! Thanks, Mary, for another wonderful give-away!

Joke of the day:
A lady went to H*** and the Devil took her into the “Stitcher’s Room”. It had every kind of faric and thread imaginable. The lady gasped and said “if this is H*** why do you have all this lovely fabric and thread?”
Scroll down 🙂
The Devil replied “NO NEEDLES”.

My favorite accessory (and most necessary) are my magnifying glasses. These look like jewelers glasses. I’d love to have the peacock needleminder, tho’! I’ve been eyeing that one and another one with a cat on it. If I remember correctly, the cat needleminder looks like Wedgewood. Thanks for this wonderful opportunity Mary!

Most generous as always Mary and yours is the first email I read each day. My favourite needlework accessory is my laying tool for silkribbon work, but I would love to have a thread stand someday. Love the look and the convenience of them.

My favorite sewing tool is my tekobari (a tool used in Japanese embroidery for laying and many other things). I use it now with all my stitching and it truly has a zillion and one uses! Happy New Year!

I like to have nice accessories around me too. But I do like a good pair of sharp embroidery scissors next to me. I also have small magnets attached to my projects to hold my needle instead of sticking it into the fabric.

I have been a quilter for about 30 years and haven’t really tried much needlework except for that. Is quilting a needlework? So to answer your question, I don’t really have any tools or gadgets for needlework. I love all the work you show on your blog! Absolutely awesome! Thank you for a great blog!

My favourite tool is my laying tool. I find it indispensible when working with more than one thread. They one I have slips onto my finger and therefore leaves me with two hands to hold both my hoop with material and my needle and thread.

Gosh you are amazing, the time you find to cheer our day up and your generosity to boot. I haven’t done needle painting in about 29 years and that was my first embrodery. What a wonderful way to get started on it again with one of your give aways.
Happy new year to you and yours.

Dear Mary, How delightful of you to be offering such a beautiful give-away! Christmas isn’t over till Twelfth Night, you know. And what hard questions you ask! There are so many beautiful embroidery accessories out there! Ornate silver needle cases, decorative metal thread cutter medallions, fancy scissors–there’s a pair in the shape of a hare I have been especially coveting–gorgeous laying tools of wood, bone, precious metals set with gems, ornate chatelaines of great variety and beauty! How can one choose out of such riches? The one thing, though, I could not do without is my humble … needle threader! There are some fine ones available but I have only the ordinary kind that come in cheap sewing kits–but they work just fine. Very best Yuletide wishes, Barbara

hi mary,those r realy beautiful giveaway things ur giving at sweet present to for a lucky winner.Well i will like to have needleminder as an accessory ,the needle keeps on going here and there and i think its a necesscity for me at present today.

Hands down I love scissors — but I also love baskets, tins and such to sort and store threads, embellishments and such — Right now I’m longing for that beautiful craft LED light magnifier features a while back —

Hi Mary,
some time ago I bought Kuroha thread clipper and I’m really pleased with it. It’s much more convenient than scissors. And I cut a lot of threads as I work on Hardanger :). As for the accessories I’d like to have – maybe some nice toolbox to keep all the necessary things in one place.

My most precious embroidery accesory is my needle case, it holds packets of needles rather than single needles and was made for me by a dear friend , one simple article that I would like is a really nice thimble I have quite plain ones I just would like a really special one and haven’t been able to find one.

I would love to have a pretty needlekeeper. Like you, I enjoy using things which go beyond just function, things which add beauty to my day. Because there are no needlework shops in my area, these are difficult to find.

I have a fondness for chatelaines, especially the vintage ones. Or ones made to look like they are vintage 🙂 The idea of keeping all my important tools THAT handy just tickles me 🙂 I’m easily entertained! Of course, my chatelaine would need just the right vintage scissors, but that wouldn’t be hard to obtain. In fact, now that I’ve written about, it might be my project for this year! Thank you once again for the giveaway!Karen Gass

My favorite accesory is my Ott light with magnifier. It’s a floor model, but the magnifier is on a very flexible arm and good sized, so my old eyes can see my stitching! If I could choose one other accesory, it would be a good floor stand (the one you reviewed about a year ago) so I can stitch anywhere in the house or outside. Thanks for the wonderful opportunity to win yet another fab give-a-way!

My fav needlework accessory is the embroidery accessory kit- with embroidery transfer pen, pencil, embroidery transfer paper, scissors.. it may sound small but yeah, after struggling for months without realizing such a kit was available (ignorance ;P) and when my friend gifted it to me i felt blessed :)) and thats why its my fav…

I would like to work with a large square wooden frame… make some nice hand embroidered table cloth and divan covers 🙂

Dear Mary,
Until you told us about your extravagant purchase of your “frog button” and that you decided to turn it into a needleminder, I did not even know such an item existed. Shows you, you are never to old to learn. As I am very fond of peacocks that needleminder will just do nicely thank you very much. I am forever dropping my needles to the horror of my husband! Hopefully the peacock will be my saving grace 🙂
While I at it , I want to wish you only the best for 2011. Love Elza, Cape Town.

Hi Mary. What a wonderful giveaway! My favourite needlework accessory is a little crazy-quilted sewing kit made for me in a 1:1 Round Robin. It was supposed to be a quilt square, but it was a lovely surprise. There were goodies in the pockets, too.
I’d love to win the kit and needlework accessories! Thank you.

the embroidery kit is beautiful! as are the the other things. I am still pretty new to the world of needlework and have not moved beyond a basic hoop and DMC threads, but have been wanting to get a floor stnd to hold my hoop, and to get a magnetic needleminder. (the arm of my chair has become a pincushion lol)

Oh so many tools I love, so many that I don’t have…Let’s see, a favourite? My ort box, as it is just a pretty little thing. I love my petite needles (size 28)they work great with my hands…let’s see, my Ginger scissors, yes they ARE worth the hype, good quality and cuts my threads better than anything else…

Hi, As I go further into semi-retirement, I keep thinking about moving into a different area of needlework. I have done needlework for 30 years – crossstitch,hardanger,band samplers with specialty
stitches and love it, but I keep reading your blog and thinking that surface embroidery is the next challenge. My great grandmother had the talent – maybe me too! Winning the Trish Burr Kit would be a good way to spur me on to try something new.

Hi Mary
I think a very useful accessory is a large cork board to display your embroidery pattern with a magnetic board placced under the pattern and the magnetic strips to keep your place on an embroidery pattern especially for a cross stitch pattern where the symbols are quite small. Small magnetic blocks are also available almost like a windows to mark a small section which also works well. I think I would like would be a really bright magnifier lamp with the magnifier incorporated like the one you had on your newsletter some time ago – looked great! I am trying the Trish Burr thread painting practise pieces from her book at the moment and once the supplier is open again in UK am to buy the DVD which will give the hands on help so the thread painting kit would be fab!! Have a joyous new year with health and happiness in abundance for 2011. All the very best. El x

A large, brightly colored, beaded lizard fob is my all time favorite tool. He not only keeps track of my embroidery scissors and makes it much more difficult to lose them in my sewing box but gives me a little smile whenever I use those scissors since my children made him for me

Hi Mary, and Happy New Year! I love the Trish Burr kits and my husband keeps saying I need a needle minder when he finds pins and needles on the floor, so I’m hoping! My favourite accessory is my needle case. It’s a beautifully made wooden tube with a tight fitting lid and all my needles just sit in it. It has a delicate painting of apple blossom on the side and it always reminds me of a great holiday I had in Scotland, where I found it in a little roadside giftee shoppee. Unfortunately it’s totally impractical and I keep thinking I must make a more practical needle book so that I can find the needle I want easily, but I do love it!

Without hesitation, I choose my little beaded needle book.
The first day I attended The Embroidery Guild as a member, I very shyly took along a little cross stitch to do. They had a tutor for doing beading over tapesty type larger floral upholstery fabric and kindly insisted on giving me all the bits and pieces to join in. Well, by the end of the day I was so pleased with my project, myself and the group and tutor.
I made it up into a needle book that not only still looks beautiful to me but gets used lots. Later I made a matching sissor fob too.

Mary, thanks again for your generosity. The kit and the accessories are both terrific. My favorite needlework accessory? Had to think a bit, and then it was obvious: my needlethreaders. Life is too short to spend it *threading* the needle — I’d rather be stitching. I use the flat style with a narrow end for most needles and a large end for yarn. The hole in the middle is handy for a cord or safety pin to keep it from wandering. I use an “ultra” for beading needles. The typical wire ones always seem to break too easily.

Looking forward to following your articles next year. We’re all winners in learning from you.

I would love to try needlepainting. That kit is beautiful, and the accessories are lovely. I don’t have that many accessories, because I haven’t been embroidering for very long, but my favorite now is a pair of folding scissors. They’re clever, and they go anywhere. I’d like to make myself a pretty needlebook- definitely a project for 2011.

My favourite needlework tool is the “Ott” light with the rechargeable battery. I need good daylight to see when I embroider and I can take this with me to guild and classes and still use it at home.
Thanks again, Mary for the chance to win something and for your wonderful blog.
Ruth Ann in Canada

Happy New Year, Mary! I really enjoy your blog and have learned so much—from Quilter’s Soap to easier transfer products. You have opened a whole world of thread to me! A needle work item I would like: a package of the special transfer paper you wrote upon this month!

My husband and I relocated from Atlanta to Denver and now to Ohio about 5 years ago. After deciding to be a stay at home Mom with the move to Denver, there was alot of time I had no idea how to fill. I took my first quilting class (never sewed before). The quilt shop was great in broadening my skills to include embroidery (redwork). My local quilt shop in Ohio started an embroidery group that meets once a month. So in my Southern way of making a short story long – My favorite needlwork accessory has 3 components: 1. People who are willing to pass along their skills and knowledge. 2. Your website with the videos and tips (not sucking up). 3. Books that y,all and fellow embroiders recommend.

My favorite accessory is your blog – not saying this because of the give-away but as I’ve said in the past this is one useful tool. I consult it daily in my stitching. I have become addicted and now have soooo many stitching ideas because of your blog – Trish Burr is on of my addictions because of the blog!

The tool I would like to have is a stand/hoop that actually works and makes it easier not more awkward. One where finishing off an end is not a major event of bolts and screws. Or where you can stitch and look at a pattern and have your tools handy. And lastly, one that does not require a new home mortgage. OK = I may be just a bit picky here but you asked!

My favorite tool is my wood hoop on a stand that I bought in Italy many years ago. I don’t always use it, but when I do I really like the result of my work. The tools that I would really like are dyes in a kit with many colors to dye ribbon and threads for embroidery.

My leather thimble has become my best friend in the needlework accessory category. Obviously it protects my finger and allows me to work longer on my projects, but I also find myself “admiring” the growing circle of worn-down leather where the needle strikes the most. To me, it represents a badge of honor or competence.
I’d love to win the drawing for the accessories and kit. Some of those accessories I didn’t even realize existed! 🙂

I didn’t know there were such beautiful accessories for needlework! I’m such a beginner. I love the hearts, but I think the needle minder is my favourite. Thank you for all your wonderful information for my journey into hand embroidery – it’s been the best help and inspiration.
Have a very happy and healthy New Year.
Thanks, Debbie

What a lovely kit. I love accessories too, although my favorites are for knitting. I have freshwater pearl and tiger eye stitch markers that are like jewelry for my knitting. I also love my bone needle case, my old thimbles, grandma’s silver quilting needles, my little needle book locket…it’s all so much fun to play with!

One of my favorite accsesories is my purple scissors!!! which I bought at ‘Heart of the Home”, A small craft store which carried yarn, thread(DMC) stamping, scappbooking….then they closed to enlarge their framing store which was in the back. I miss the store terribly, and have fond memories when I sit down to stitch.

My grandmothers thread box is by far my most treasured accessory. She was an extremely accomplished seamstress and embroiderer. As her first granddaughter, I had the honor of inheriting her box. An everlasting connection I will share with my girls

Happy New Year to you Mary and may it be a blessed one! I love all types of needlework and all the tools they require! My favorite is a clamp that fits onto your frame which is of a bird that is a pincushion to hold your needles while you work. It was given to my mother from her mother and now it is mine. I cherish it greatly. I have always wanted the tools that you are giving away but I would like a beautiful laying tool. Also I am in need of a frame that has the bars on the left and right to work long embroideries! Thank you for considering me.

My favourite needlework tool is a scissor fob. I have several, some beaded, some stitched, some sewn, but they are invaluable in helping to find scissors that have slipped of my leg and into the chair, or onto the floor. Wonderful giveaway Mary. Best wishes for a happy New Year.

What a great giveaway. The kit is marvelous and the thread holders are just beautiful. I have a little needle keeper that holds the needle which is a great thing to have because sometimes I’ll stick the needle in my shirt only to forget about it and find it later with my hand. OUCH! but I have to say if I could have any accessory it would be one of the powerful magnifier/lights. I find as I age that my eyes just can’t keep up and that is very frustrating.

What gorgeous accesories, I love things like that, my favourite and most used item, or my treasured “helper” would have to be my unpicker. I literally go into panic mode when I cant find it. Happy New Year everyone.

It is difficult to decide what one tool I would like to have or which one is my favourite that I do have. I think maybe though my favourite is an ivory laying tool I have – it is so pretty and so useful!
Hugs,
Kerrykerrykatiecakeskeb43@gmail.com

Hmmm. So many needlework tools!! I guess there are a couple that I reach for quite often. First, I LOVE my Kai embroidery scissors. They are not fancy, but they are the sharpest (and sharp to the very point) scissors I have ever used, whether you are clipping threads or trimming fabric threads for hardanger & drawn thread work. The other thing I use a lot is a #13 weavers needle. A fat ole thing with a big eye and a bent point. I use it as a laying tool, poking out corners (when turning pin cushions) and a lot of finishing work. So simple. So useful.
By the way, Happy New Year, Mary!!

The needlework accessory I am desperate for right now is a sit on frame that holds anysize hoop. My hands cramp up alot from holding the hoop and I do alot of hand embroidery and needle punch. I don’t have any of the accessories you showed so would love to have them. I am a stitchin fool and if I didn’t have my stitichery to do I would go nuts. Have a wonderful and blessed new year.

Hi Mary,
Happy New Year! Health & Happiness for 2011.
Love the accessories in today’s blog. The accessory that I would love to have is one of the craft lamps you featured a few weeks ago; with the magnifier and light. Still working on getting one of those.

Hi Mary,
My favorite tool would easily be my OTT lamp. With it their are no stitches out of place – without it I would only be able to stitch a short time before my eyes gave out.
My wish for a future tool would definatley have to be for a light table. When tracing an item onto embroidery fabric I use the window in my sewing room. This works well but does give me a sore neck by the time I am finished.
Thanks for the opportunity Mary! Trish Burr has such beautiful kits.
KayseeB in Canada.

I won the book giveaway last time, and just wanted to wish everyone good luck for this giveaway. Isn’t Mary the best? Right now, a stitch dictionary, needles and a pair of titanium embroidery scissors are my favorite tools.

I have no sspecial needlework too with the exception of a good embroidery needle and hoop.
I am a beginner and would love to own all the tools in the world but at this writing wi sette only for two. I love trish burr’s work it is joyful.
carol gross

I have followed blog for a VERY long time. I have not posted much though. I love it! My daily read, first thing in the morning.

My favorite needlework accessory is my(I have several but this one is awesome)music stand! No kidding. I use it to hold my chart…my marking pens, scissors,….I can clip a magnifier or light to it too. I can raise or lower it as I need it. It was not expensive at all. I got it several years ago at a music store….on sale….$35.00. It is black and where the music is places is solid sheet metal making magnets usable or those big clips can be used…I think they are called bulldog clips? This is not the folding kind, although I bet that would work terrifically also. I have even made a lovely fabric cover for the top, so when not in use, it goes with the decor of the room. I know. I know. Who cares? But I did it anyway. It always looks wonderful!

My favorite is BLT – Best Laying Tool recommented by Shay Pendray. It fits my small hand and just feels right. Maybe it is because I have seen her on TV stroking the thread with this tool.However, it fits my hand and does the job beautifully.

Hi Mary,
Once again you are going overboard with wonderful gifts to give away. You’re very generous. I’ve never enjoyed a website as much as yours. I learn everything about embroidery from you and whenever I get lost I just watch one of your videos…they are such a great convenient teacher! I have only a few basic accessories so I’d love to win the beautiful mother-of-pearl goodies to make my sewing bag more attractive. My favorite accessory is my new yarn needle threader by DMC. Before I had it, I broke several threaders! Thank you for this adventure! I look forward to our next email. Claudia

Hi Mary!! Think my favorite tool is a 12in long narrow piece of ribbon attached to my scissors! On the other end is my lo ran needle threader! This makes both scissors and threader easy to find and pull off of my nearby needlework table! never have to search long for either accessory! Love to try needlepainting!! Linda

Wow 74 comments in under two hours. Gonna be hard to get my foot in on this one. Sounds like folks really like this kit. Don’t even mention accessories to me. I get so mad at myself. Most of the niceties I want can be substituted with a cheaper home made thing. Like the “best laying tool”12.75 or the handmade rosewood tool with case at 24.99.They can easily be replaced with a bamboo stick for 2 cents. I am finding some things you just get to the point of needing like a thread winder. This old wrist just dosn’t work like it used to.

Mary, this is a beautiful give-a-way! The Trish Burr kit is fantastic and I would love to win but alas I am not one of those folks who win but love to enter.My needlework trinkets are few. However I do have a set of hoops that I am becoming fond of using but the ultimate tool I have is a beautiful pair of Dovo embroidery scissors! They are the ultimate accessory to own in my spoiled opinion!
Happy New Year to you Mary.

After seeing the photo of the wonderful kit and devine sewing accesories I would love to win them. I have never done this type of embroidery but would love to have a go.
I have a few antique accesaries I was given by a man who does house clearence as he said they would be more use to me than to him.
I also find the video’s in your news letter very helpful as it is easier to learn by watching the stitches worked than reading about them.

What beautiful little accessories along with the needlework kit! I also never knew those existed, but then again I am a beginner and am learning so much from your site all the time. I really appreciate your daily blogs and varity of topics. My favorite needlework accessory is a simple drawstring cloth bag that I use to carry around my small projects in. It was a gift to me from a visiting Japanese student and has beautiful handworked embrodiery on it itself, so I get compliments on my work and my little bag too! It holds everything I need to travel around and still get some work done here and there, plus it keeps my busy babies away from my threads! Thank you for your many generous give-aways and Happy New Year!

Hi, Mary! Thanks for another great give-away! 🙂 I myself am in desperate need of a magnifier – I’m stitching a free project by Country Bumpkin now in a very small count fabric. I tell you, sometimes there’s not enough light for me to see what I’m doing. But I also desperately need a Trish Burr’s kit, ok? 😉

Thanks for another great contest! I think working with beautiful tools just inspires me to stitch even more. My favorite tool is a beaded scissor fob that my Mom got for me a few years ago. It helps me to keep up with my scissors and I am sentimental about any gift she gives me.

What a fabulous give away! My magnifying glasses are my most REQUIRED stitching accessory. . .but that almost doesn’t count does it. My current real favorite is my over-the-sofa-arm needle rest and ort catcher made for me by a stitching friend. My stitching chair still looks like a bomb went off…BUT the orts no longer litter chair and floor!

The accessory/tool that I like the most is the needle minder. I made the felt needle roll that you had on your blog, but to have the magnetic one would be great as you could keep it out and close by never losing your needle.
Blessings,
Charlotte

My favorite tool is a pair of stork scissors on a leather neckpiece that my late aunt gave me…probably mostly for sentimental reasons. Because of a disease, my eyesight is slowly going. If I could have anything at all, it would be a large illuminated magnifying glass on a moveable stand. (I’m working up to asking my husband.)

What a beautiful give-away!I particularly love embroidery-scissors. My favorites are a whitch-scissor( I collect whitches…..) and a very nice old scissor ,I found on a flea market ‘ with a fox and a stork.

Mary, thank you for offering such an awesome giveaway-I would really really love to be chosed to win this.
I am pretty new to handwork except I do love hand quilting, and am learning to embroider. I don’t have many accessories, but I remember seeing in a book something I would love to find. It was a little clamp with a pretty bird on top, and it was used as an extra hand-to clamp down fabric to work on an area.
The thread painting kit looks wonderful too along with those wonderful accessories-thanks so much for all you do for us, I love your blog posts-learning all the time

my favorite tool is the stitch ripper, until I see what I am doing I need to rip out what I put in. I was trying a 32 count and I have decided to order 28 count. Than maybe I can retire my stitch ripper.

Thank you for being so generous. I am having a hard time choosing my favorite tool as all of mine are very basic and plain. The tool I could use most is a purple Vusion Light and Magnifier and a graph holder that clips to my frame (I also cross stitch). Again very basic but something that would be most useful. Someday I will purchase a few of the beautiful accessories such as the your Peacock needle minder and I plan to make an etui perhaps with crazy quilting.

You have THE most awesome store on line I have ever encountered. My most wanted accessory would have to be a floor stand embroidery frame. With it I would be able to leave my project and not worry about it being sat on or disturbed. It would remain intact for me to continue where I left off. Thank you for the opportunity to enter this contest and possibly win this amazing prize! Again, you have my ideal “candy store” on line. Thank You!

My favorite accessory is my bag that carries my current project ( a pillow case),& my box of threads, needles and thread. It is like a gardening tote for embroidery with pockets for larger scissors and patterns. I love having everything in one place and everything being so portable! My grandfather always had a large piece of beeswax for his needles ( he repaired persian carpets) the fragrance always reminds me of my childhood…I would love to have a large piece to use and to perfume my bag…

Happy New Year! Thank you once again for your generous give away. Until very recently I didn’t have many needlework accesories or tools beyond the very basics – until this summer when I purchased a laying tool. I bought it for a specific project and instantly loved how wonderful the threads looked when I used it. Now I can’t imagine stitching without it. I would love to add the beautiful accessories you are offering to my growing collection as well as the Trish Burr kit on needlepainting. Thanks as always for the opportunity to win something special.

OMG Mary,
Now this is almost like attending the Oprah Christmas giveaway show! What a great way to end a year and start off the new with a contest giveaway like this! :)I have to say I have 3 top favorite tools and the first one has to be the natural bright sun-light when stitching. My eyes challenge me and the sunlight helps me so much to see the especially dark thread colors.I also would be lost without my ott light. My family members also find this to be a useful tool. My next favorite tool has to be my little pair of short embroidery scissors.They are so handy and sharp.Good luck to all as this is a wonderful contest and Thanks Mary for this contest opportunity.
Have a wonderful and happy new year!
Happy stitching in 2011!
Tess R.

Hi, Mary,
The tool Ican’t live is my magnifier glasses from Daylight. They come with four different strengths that can be popped into the frame. I love to do needlepainting and stumpwork, and without them, I would be lost.

Hello Mary,
This give-away is just so good! Very lucky who wins it, we will all envy her, but be happy also, it will be such a nice end of year gift. Thank you for spoiling us.
Now, do stitchbows count as accessories? If they do, then they will be my favourite. I use mostly stranded cotton. Since I have discovered stitchbows, I find it so easy to keep my threads neat and tidy, and as I use also the plastic pockets made to store them, my threads are always nicely tidied up for the next time I need them, not the bag of worms they could turn into. I would also love to have a laying tool – maybe my satin stitch would then lie neater (wishful thinking).

Anyway, Mary, I wish you all the best for 2011. Keep on entertaining us.

I would love to have a nice floor lamp since I am planning on painting my computer room this January and planning a space in it just for my needlework. I will move my comfortable chair in and a floor lamp to stitch by would be the perfect accessory. I would love to win this contest also because the peacock needle minder is really pretty and I also love Trish Burr designs.

My favorite sewing notion is a silk embroidered traditional Hussif of New Zealand. I made and embroidered with all the needle holders, tape measure pocket, scissor pocket, handmade pin cushion,and extra pockets. It holds all of my sewing implements and is lovely as well. The Mother of Pearl embroidery accessories would truly be quite the addition, when working on the floral project and all future needlework.

My favorite tool is applique sissors. I don’t do applique work, but use the sissors for cutwork. I have been looking for a needle minder, but live in area with no shops which carry specialy items. I am looking forward to your upcoming series on silk threads as I have been searching for information on the different types of silk and what works best for different projects. Can you wash items stitched with silk? Thank you for all your inspiration! Enjoy a Happy and Healthy New Year! Linda F

Mary,
Have you ever met a Notions Junkie?
That would be me. My favorite thing is embroidery scissors. I must have 4-5 nice pair. I also just love love needles. Joanns 40% off sale always draws my attention.

But the one thing that makes my heart sing when I sit down to stitch is a pin cushion my friend Arwa sent me. She is a resident Doctor in Baghdad and I met her in my yahoo group. She has become my dear friend. She and her sister Rand are very talented young ladies. Though I always worry about how she and her family are fairing, she is constant in her good attitude and gracious manner.

Golly – I love needlework tools, totes, organizers, all of it! And the prettier and more frivolous the better! So naming one favorite is next to impossible. But the one tool I use every time I stitch is a hideously ugly big gray rubbery thimble. It’s soft, conforms to my finger, and stays put.

My most necessary tool is my reading glasses, the eyes aren’t what they used to be. The tool I would most want are… your hands! I don’t think you will give those up though. ; ) Your work is so beautiful and your site is an inspiration to a newbie like myself. Thanks for sharing all you do.

My favorite needlework accessory/tool is my laying tool. I have larger hands and some laying tools cause my hand to cramp. I had a laying tool permanently attached into a wooden pen case; the cap screws on to protect the point but when this cap is removed, it is screwed onto the bottom of the pen body and makes a longer larger handle. B screwing the cap into the lower end of the body I never lose the cap. The only disadvantage I find with this tool is that it easily rolls and if I ever have another made I am going to see if they can make a stopper or flat spot so it will not roll. But overall, I love my laying tool. You can see a picture of it here (http://sudukc.wordpress.com/2009/03/02/i-lay-i-layed-i-will-laythreads/ ), it is laying tool picture 6 & 7.

My most valued accessory is the coffee table and a mechanical pencil. The table top is made of glass and I can stick a bright light under it to trace patterns on to fabric.

I have all my DMC threads neatly organized. Love getting them out and looking at all the colors!

The rest of my supplies(needles, hoops etc..) need a quality upgrade and some organization. I’m treating myself to this endeavor soon!

I’m thinking of getting a scroll type frame. Recently tried the bullion knot, need more practice and have added a milliner needle to the list of things to buy. Been looking for white cotton gloves for my non stitching hand that holds the hoop. My list goes on and on…..

I have sewn on my grandmothers lap for 62 years. I have every tool you can ever want or need. I love all the new ones coming out. My favorite accessories are my friends. They make a day of sewing much brighter and enjoyable. Keep up the good work with your newsletter, I really look forward to reading and rereading.

One of my most essential needlework tools is a small pair of wire cutters – nothing fancy, just a pair that I borrowed from my husband’s tool box. I use them to cut wire when I’m doing stumpwork. The most unusual needlework tool I use is an eyebrow brush, which I use when I do turkey work (to fluff up the threads).

Happy New Year Mary! I’ve really enjoyed reading your blog this year and I can’t wait to see what you’ll be writing about in 2011.

What a great way to end the year with a give away of such a lovely kit and accessories. My favorite tool is probably my Star D-Tailor to catch and pull through tail ends of thread and as to any one I would love to have, even though I’m not sure it is legally a tool is the Lowery stitching stand or the metal one by K’s Creations to hold all projects as one stitches. Thanks so much for your wonderful postings each day. Anne

Choosing just one – that is difficult – depends on the needlework type sometimes… but the top three are : Dovo scissors/Prof. Japanese scissors, Stiletto/Tekobari, Good quality needles/Japanese handmade needles in needlefelt.

So, so glad to have found your blog! My favorite tool is my Quilter’s Portable Workstation. Designed by Ami Simms, it’s meant to keep a quilting project organized, but I use mine to keep all my embroidery stuff in one, easily portable, relatively organized, spot: http://www.amisimms.com/qupowo.html

Hi Mary,
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and skills with people like me who are just learning! If I were to pick one item that I would like to have, it would be silk thread. I love color and I think the sheen on the silk thread would make a project come to life. It would probably also be a very smooth thread and fun to work with. Everytime I read your email, I “win”. Most of them I have saved. THANK YOU again for sharing.

My favorite needlework tool is a pair of embroidery scissors that belonged to my mom – she passed away earlier this year and I love having these scissors in my stitch bag. She and my grandmother taught me to embroider – good memories.

I don’t have many fun accessories, but I do love my pretty little embroidery scissors! They are so dainty and sharp. I also want an etui and I have about 5 patterns for different designs–my favorite has ribbon embroidery and someday I will learn to do ribbon embroidery and make it.

You are a dream come true for needleworkers. Your site inspires and educates. Aaannnddd as a bonus, a give-away! But I digress from the question.
My favorite needlework accessory is undoubtedly the elegant wooden scissor/laying tool holder that my husband carved for me complete with two laying tools with carved handles. Such a personal gift is a constant reminder of the love, care and support of someone who appreciates the craft of needlework.

My favorite tool is one I use often in my regular quilting, but have now discovered its usefulness in crazy quilting. Many years ago a close friend of mine who is a dentist made casts of my thumbs and forefingers using molding acrylic. This is the stuff used for making tray impressions of teeth prior to modeling crowns, bridges, etc. Once dry, he made small holes across the top so that my fingers could “breathe”. They are custom made to fit only my fingers and fit so beautifully I don’t even realize I have them on sometimes. I’ve even been known to go to bed with them on occasionally! They’re great to protect my fingers from needles and also are super for pulling the needle through the fabric.

Always enjoy your posts Mary! Your site is a treasure trove of information. My fav – Annie’s keepers. I use them to store all my threads. My threads are easy to access and beautiful to look at. Thank you.

A few weeks ago my puppy chewed up the accessory that I use the most. It was my wooden laying tool that I purchased at my first EGA seminar 13 years ago. I never realized how much I had taken it for granted. I was angry at the puppy and myself, but most of all I was surprised at the sense of loss that I felt. I am having a hard time stitching without it.

Your give away is amazing. The kit alone would be enough, but the accessories put it over the top. Your generosity is amazing

I would love to have my own etiu one day too! I would have to say my favorite accessory right now is my clip on lighted magnifying lamp. When age creeps up on you, your eyesight stats to go. Well, for me anyway LOL. I also love my trolley needle for laying threads. And that peacock needle minder would look real nice minding my needles for me!

Over the years I have collected small treasures for my needlework box – my mother’s thimbles, my grandmother’s silver ruler – and my favorite thing to embroider is smalls and stitcher’s purses. But what started the whole collection was when my boyfriend and I had been on a long car trip. I was working on a large counted-work project and suddenly realized the edges of the bands didn’t meet – I had miscounted a couple of inches back and it would all have to come out. So there I was teasing out one stitch at a time with my needle until my hands ached. When we got back home, I handed him a large darning needle and asked him to go set it into the end of a small piece of wooden dowel rod to make an awl. Then I went about my business with the unpacking and laundry. When he came back he had done oh so much more. He had set that needle into an antler tine and then carved it into a spiral turning. It was polished until it glowed like ivory and felt like silk. The curve fit my fingers perfectly and it has become an indispensable part of my sewing kit. But the best part of all was the love and thoughtfulness that went into its making. Since then, my workbox collection has grown with other pieces to complement it, but I always smile when I see that awl. And I think that no matter what lovely things I may acquire in the future (because after all, beautiful tools are an addiction – you just can’t have too many lovely work box tools/toys) that one will be my favorite treasure.

My first thought was my thimble since it took a lot of searching for the right one. Then I realized that I wouldn’t be able to stitch at all without my clip on magnifers, but the winner for favorite is my thimble case made from a Marsha Papay-Gomola stumpwork kit.

Mary, What a lovely giveaway. My favorite tools are scissors. I have a variety but cannot resist good, sharp Italian embroidery scissors when I see them. But the mother of pearl thread keeprs and rings would easily become favorites, what a pleasure it would be to have such beautiful tools to work with. And I really must buy one of Trish Burr’s kits, they are so lovely, it would be an inspiration to work with one.

My favorite tool is my magnifying glass and my ott light. I love to work with linen but for much of it the eyes just aren’t up to the task without help. But then again, I have a pair of stork scissors that my sister bought for me when she was in Switzerland. I always think of her when I use them and take them with me always.

My favorite needlework tool is my boxes of threads sorted by number on cards. My daughter who lives in Belgium asked for thread for Christmas so I bought her two boxes and divided my supply of thread with her. And I sent her your email on French Silk Thread. My first goal is to collect tools to do pattern transfer. That seems to be my stumbling block to getting started on embroidery again. Actually I think my daughter could help me. When she gets back to the US in the fall I’ll ask her.

My favorite accessory I HAVE would be my small curved scissors. When I need to cut a thread they allow me to get just where I want to be to make that snip, or (alas) sometimes to remove the stitches I need to remove without messing up the fabric. The one I want to have is something like that pretty little peacock needleminder. I shudder to think how many needles run away from home in my chair over the course of a year! lol.

MY FAVORITE NEEDLEWORK TOOL IS MY CHATELAINE. I LOVE TO TAKE IT WITH ME ON TRIPS BECAUSE IT KEEPS ALL MY TOOLS HANDY. I BEGAN BUILDING IT SEVERAL YEARS AGO AND ALL I NEED NOW IS A STRAWBERRY EMORY WITH A STERLING SILVER CAP. I HAVE A FEW OF THE RINGS THAT YOU SHOW AND THEY ARE WONDERFUL FOR THREAD. YOU CAN’T HAVE TOO MANY ACCESSORIES-RIGHT?

Hi Mary
Thanks for the opportunity to win an AWESOME gift! My favorite needlework accessories are the thread box and scissors my great grandma gave me. She was an incredible tatter-er and I love embroidery! The one tool I so need to invest in is a standing hoop! Jeez I can’t believe I have lived without one……it’s like trying to bake a cake from scratch without a standing mixer and that’s just crazy! Happy New Year to you and your family!

My favorite tool is one I made myself…a simple bunch of snack baggies sew together along the bottom. I select skeins of floss I want to use, open them into rings, and cut along the knot side. That makes perfect lengths of thread. I stuff each skein into it’s own little snack bag and seal. I can see all the thread for the project, they are all protected…and when I need one thread I simply open the bag and pull one out. They don’t tangle up. Thanks for the giveaway!

Well, you did ask ! If I had my “drathers”, I’d-rather (couldn’t resist that line from a song you’re too old to remember 🙂 )…well I’d give my eye teeth to have one of those stand-alone embroidery “stands” or (whatever they’re called) that stand on the floor in front of your chair, and you can stretch out a whole piece of work, maybe 24×36 inches. Wonderful for making a set of chair seats and backs popular in the victorian era. They’re mucho expensive but I do see them in catalogues. If you know where I can find one that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg I’d be so much obliged ! Happy 2011….Judy in Pittsburgh

The tool I would most like to own is a slate frame. I just finished reading Ruth Chamberlin’s “Beginner’s Guide to Goldwork” and your 2008 post on “Dressing a slate frame.” (Chamberlin says that the name comes from the slates that were used in schools before paper.) I think that the work involved in handling the frame would be worth it to have a taut surface to work on. I think that my embroidery would improve immensely.
Best wishes for the new year. Your column makes my day!

The more I read your blog, but more I identify with you. I have a terrible weakness for needlework tools. I have the Kelmscott circles and the oblong thread holder, but I have other tools that are fantastic. Years ago I stumbled across a local man who made needlework and lace-making tools. He had a display at an EGA show that year and his tools were marvelous. I was mostly broke at the time, but I really wanted at least a laying tool (all hand-turned on a lathe). I took his card and later called. He gave me directions to his place and met me at a mall to let me follow him to his workshop without getting lost. I had the best of intentions to buy only a laying tool, but there was a round stand — gorgeous dark wood, which he explained was snakewood — the densest and hardest wood there is; it won’t even float. He had made the stand just to try it out and didn’t intend to make any more because it just took too long — the wood heated his tools up badly and he had to stop for long periods. The tools in the stand were all made of bone and the stand had a bone finial. So much for “only a laying tool.” I couldn’t pass it up — and he had a laying tool made of snakewood, too, so I did get “only a laying tool,” as well. Later he started making cases for Japanese stilettos and I had taken up goldwork and needed a brush, so I contacted him again. Now I have a snakewood stiletto handle and case and a natural, soft bristle brush with a snakewood handle. Unfortunately, a few years after that he stopped making his fabulous tools so I’m very, very, very happy I “spent the rent money” when I did. They’re irreplaceable.

My favorite tool is my magnifying light so I can see what I’m doing. I also like my laying tool as it helps in getting the stitches neatly placed.I love all your tips an tutorials.
I’d love to win those beautiful Mother of Pearl extras. Also Trish’s beautiful kit.

My favourite needlework accessory is a fabulous pair of scissors. Without sharp scissors, needlework can be very frustrating; hacking away at threads and cursing whomever used the scissors to cut paper. 🙂

As for an accessory I would like to have, that would be an electric cording drill. My little hand-powered drill is nice, but I’d love to be able to make more complex braids.

What beautiful embordiery accessories. I would love to have them to have and to hold. Using anything made of mother of peral would surely improve my needle working skills. My favorite tool is the imformation I have gained by reading your newsletter, So much I never knew about, thank you for being willing to share. With all I’ve gained 2011 will feel like heaven.

My favorite needlework accessory, hands down, is my Ott light! No question about it! I can work in the evenings without eyestrain. In fact, I just bought a second one for the other side of my “nesting chair”!

Happy New Year Mary,
Oh how I look forward to your blog each day. No matter what else is going on I take a moment of vacation when I read your words and dream over the pictures, and most often follow a link or two whether I have the time to or not!
I would say my most favorite stitching tool is my dear late grandmother Victoria’s bone awl/laying tool. Because of my love of needlework I was gifted with her sewing things after her death and, as precious as could be, included in her sewing box was the strand of buttons still on the string where I, as a little girl, would string them at her feet as she was embroidering. That string of buttons has a treasured spot among my needlework display in my sewing room.
Just like you are doing with all of your efforts, she blessed me with a lifetime of pleasure and beauty.
Best wishes for the new year and beyond,
Vickie

Wish you a very happy new year and thanks for this wonderful give away :).I would love to have a thimble because its so handy and prevents from painful pricks :).I love the floss box which I have with floss cards in it which helps me a lot to locate the threads.but the accessories in the above post are very beautiful and would be delightful to own them.The Trish burr kit is lovely as usual.

I would so love this giveaway!! My Favorite assesory is my Mighty Bright Light! I have the original short one piece unit that has the Light and magnifier together that clips to your frame or hoop. Just 4 inches long and works great. Last year I found one of the newer models that sits taller but I like my old faithful thats lasted 10 years. Happy New Year Thanks Audrey

Mary,
I have learned so much reading your blog every day. I would love to have some of the thingees from your needlework treasures. You are a true inspiration to inexperienced needleworkers like me. Thanks for your tips on beautiful workmanship.

I am new to your website and a self-taught embroiderer so I am not sure what several of the tools are used for. I have been away from embroidery for many years and am just returning – it is so nice that your newsletter exists – especially for people like me who have great desires and ideas but little time.

Mary,
How nice of you to do this again! I would love, love to win those hearts, and of course the Trish Burr kit. I think my favorite needlework accessory/tool is my Ott light. With my eyes getting older, this light makes it so much easier to see my work. Thanks for doing this giveway. Sheila from CA

Alas embroidery accessories are not a thing I have in my tool kit yet 🙂 I would dearly love to have some sort of thread keepers (like the thread drops you reviewed some time ago) I tend to embroider in spurts, and when I pack up my project to move it somewhere, the threads often get quite tangled.
The most useful tool I have now, though, is your website with it’s veritable library of needlework information. Thanks for all the tips and advice!

My favorite Needle work tool is the needle book I made for myself when I first started learning embroidery. I challenged myself to use five of the stitches that I was lerning and to make something for myself for a change. now the corners are curling, it’s got fuzz from cloth, unused thread wrapped round needles and sticking out. I love it! I can also see how far I have come in actually making the stitches since I started learning…very encouraging to me, actually.

My wish: Right now I’d love to own a decent pair of scissors that somehow magically always stays where it’s supposed to be so I don’t end up having to use the blunt instruments I inevitably end up using because they’re all I can find!

Dear Mary,
Thank you for the interesting letters you send us – I recently became a member and look forward to your emails every day.

My favourite needlework accessory is my drawn threadwork needlebook which I designed and stitched a few years ago when I was living in South Africa. I have done some needlepainting and would love to win Trish Burr’s kit.

Hi, Mary, I guess my favorite needlework accessory is a pin, fashioned of a metal dog and cat, with a magnet on the back and pretty pink cord with lobster clip for my scissors. They always seem to get lost down in the sides of my chair! Of course, then there is the wonderful Dazor light, too. Oh, and then there is the matal stand to hold my charts…
Oh dear, there are just too many to name!! – Wendy in South Carolina

Most necessary and useful item I have and a pretty much cherished one, as my daughter gave it to me for Christmas last year is my light/magnifier combo… with my eyesight getting bad…thing about getting old I don’t like. I really was having a hard time seeing to do needlework; this is an amazing device and it has a floor stand which is a wonderful for all those table lamps are unusable unless you are sitting at a table, which I don’t do needlework there. I do it in my chair with my feet up. Happy New Year everyone!

Thank you for such a beautiful giveaway, Mary.
I would like to have a sit-on embroidery lap frame till I saw your Dublin Craftlite Magnifier-Light Combo…this went to the my top wish list 😉
Have a great peaceful and healthy New Year 2011 Mary!

Hi, Let’s see my favorite tool is my needle threader, due to aging eyes. I am going to have some Surgery on Jan 10th and would love to have this kit and those BEAUTIFUL accessories to come home to. My other favorite Tools are my scissors, I cherish my collection….
Happy Holidays
Cheryl Hart

My favourite needlework tool is my husband! Without him, I wouldn’t have the time, the room, or the energy to sew. I only have to say the magic words ‘Ooh, I would love one of those!’, and his ideas book comes out, and if it can be made in a workshop, then it gets made! Would like to win, but the main reason for posting was to praise a worthy soul.

It’s probably more of a necessity than accessory but my favorite needlework tools are the Evertite Stretcher frames I learned about from you. I’m slowly accumulating a variety of sizes. They make stitching so much easier for me. I also count my Ott lights and magnifier as necessities/accessories.

I must include your daily posts as a favorite too. I have learned so much from you and am constantly amazed at your willingness to take the time to explain and demonstrate the art of embroidery. Thank you!

Hello Mary.
My favourite needlework tool(s) would have to be my handmade Japanese needles. They are an absolute dream to stitch with, especially when using silk. They are my “treasures” and I am very careful about storing them in a felt block to keep them safe and clean.
I wish you a very happy new year. May your stitches lay true and your threads never tangle!
Barbara

there are so many tools I could mention, but I’d have to say my needles are the things I like best. without them I could do nothing! I’ve really gotten into working with wool lately and there are some great needles out there. the second best tool would be the needle threader!

Hello Mary, i just started embroidering and i like it very much, it’s a bit difficult, but it relaxes me so much. I would love to have hoops and frames. i haven’t purchase one and it makes it so difficult to embroider, so i would love to have one haha. Thank you so much for this give away 🙂

Hi – My favorite accessory is, unfortunately, my 5 inch screw hoop. The reason I say unfortunately is that I like the feel of fabric in my hand rather than a hoop and fabric. But, I do a lot of Brazilian embroidery and I’ve discovered that if I don’t use a hoop for certain stitches, I stitch too tightly. So my favorite is a hoop.

I really would like a hoop lap stand. Something portable but that I can stick under my legs when I need to do French knots or buillions. It would allow me to have full use of both hands and do a better job!
Thanks.
Judy

I am an accessory fanatic also. In fact, I have more tools in my husbands shop than he does. Out of all my tools though, my needlework tools are my favorite. So we certainly have that in common. From the responses to your give away we are not alone. I would love to win the prize. The Trish burr kit is absolutely gorgeous. It would be a pleasure to embroider. Thanks for what you do.

Hello Mary. I like to read your e-mails very much. I am just starting to do some embroidery, basic things; so I don’t have a favorite accesorie yet. However these accesories would help me very much in my learning experience.
Thanks,

Hi Mary,
My favorite stitching tools are the Ott lites and my needles. I too am getting older and eyesight not as keen as it used to be. The one tool I would love to have is a sit on frame to stitch. Hope you have a Happy New Year. Love this site.
Carol

My favorite needlework accessory is…believe it or not…one of those old fashioned, folded leg, metal tv trays that goes on your lap. I have it modified. The bottom is lined with a piece of velux blanket and there are magnets glued to the top edge. It keeps my bits and bobs from rolling around, handy under my work, and when I am done working on the project for the day, I just lay it (the embroidery) in the tray and I have everything neatly together. I can then move my project where ever I need to put it for safe storing while I’m not working on it! I love it and couldn’t do without it!

Hi Mary,
I have recently started embroidering, and have found that I really enjoy doing it. I have an 18 month old son, so I have to squeeze it in when I can! Your website has been an amazing resource for me, particularly the how-to videos. As I am new to the art, I have to say that my favorite accessory are Thimble-Its! I had a really sore middle finger until I found these at the fabric store. Thank goodness for them! And thank goodness for you sharing your knowledge with all of us! Happy New Year!

My most favourite tool has to be my Elleses seat frame. Before purchasing this I used to get in a right 2 and 8 with my work. As a newcomer to hand embroidery though my most “useful” tool is your site, with all the helpful hints and comments and ideas from other friends of your site. Thank you all.

I couldn’t do without my selection of floss and can’t help but think that your gift would make a perfect pairing.
I have been an embroiderer since childhood. I learned in school in Scotland. My first project was an apron/workbag in gingham. I have been in stitches from that time on.

My favorite needlework accessory is my new Morgan No-Slip 7″ hoop. I bought it after reading about it on a website advertised in your e-mails and am I ever glad I did! I never have to worry about my work slipping in the hoop and can work for a long time each day. The hoop represents to me all the things I’ve learned from your e-mails in the last year.

I would love to be the winner of the Trish Burr book on thread painting as that is the technique of the project I plan to start in the new year.
Have a healthy, happy and industrious new year!

First of all Belated Merry Christmas and Advance Happy new year.hope lot many projects from you..lol..

My favorite Needlework accesories are a Scissor ( that have design and in gold or silver color )and needles.i have started collecting different kinds and sizes of needles… i also like a nice lap frame with a stand…

The accessory I would most like to have is the embroidery lap frame. This is a hoop that has an attachment that you sit that holds the hoop in place. This frees both hands for securing French Knots, etc. Additionally, it is more portable than a floor free-standing hoop. I would love to have one of these. It continues to be on my gift list when I am asked and hopefully one day I will get one. I may have to gift it to myself!

The mother-of-pearl accessories are beautiful and the kit looks like a delight. My favorite needlework tools are probably the clamps I use when a floor stand is not practical. I have a clip-style clamp which is very compact and works well if the table is not too thick. For thicker tables, I use an adjustable C-clamp (the ones with the long posts).

Once upon a crafty time, I made a 3-D picture by cutting out pieces of a print and gluing them onto another copy of the print and put the picture into the top of a wooden box to make a purse. Such has become passe and I am now converting the box into a lined holder for stitching tools. It would be nice to win the Kelmscott goodies and the kit, too.Do so enjoy your blog….keep most in a computer folder for reference. Many thanks. Jeanne Beck

I would love to win this giveaway as a new crazy quilter and embroidier. It would be great to learn from Trish burrs kit and have the extras you have included. My favorite acessoery for needloe work is really hard to pick. I would say it is betwwen my sharp embroidery scissors and my needle organizer card. Of coarse if I didn’t have my needle threaders I probably would not ever get started.

I guess my favorite needlework tool would be the basket next to my chair that holds all my needlework. I can not stitch without my lap stand, light, magnifier, scissors, needles, thread and other necessaries. I can, however, stitch without my basket but I prefer it at my side. It’s a wonderful shallow wicker basket on legs that brings it to the height of my chair. It holds all my needlework and keeps it all in one place away from harm. If I have company, or need to move my things from the living room I can pick it all up at the same time and return it in the same condition it was before the move. I love my basket and have had it for nearly 20 years. I have never seen another one like it and if it were ever damaged beyond repair I would be hard pressed to replace it.

Hello Mary!
Of course I can´t let go this opportunity, it´s a lovely giveaway!
My favorite needlework accessory is the needle, without it, I can´t do anything. I also like embroidery scissors and I would love to have one day a good hoop or lap frame.

My favorite needlework accessory is my needle case that I made for myself. It is in booklet form about 4 x 6 and has a page for each type of needle available. I embroidered the cover and other elements by hand and machine embroidered the individual pages of type needles and size. It would be such a thrill to win! I have to limit my sewing purchases since my husband has been without work for 2 1/2 years.

Hello Mary.
I like beautiful things.In decoration and embroidery ,accessories are importante as you see on my blog .I did not take photos of my work ,because every body want to have the finished article .Happy new year.bye

Good morning Mary ~ Not really a favorite, but necessary… I am with Susan; Ott light and magnifying clip ons that fit on my glasses. The accessory that I would really like to have is a pair of Sajou scissors. Someday I am going to really splurge and get some….someday…
Thank you for your daily newsletters to look forward to and the inspiration you give.
Have a wonderful 2011 ~ Sharon

Happy New Year, Mary! My favorite needlework tool is my great-grandmother’s awl with a mother of pearl carved handle. I use it as a laying tool for my silks and needlepoint work. It’s well worn and loved and I just seem to be lost without it.

Mary, I would be very thrilled to finally get to try Needle Painting & have heard that Trish Burr is one of the best. My favorite tool for my needlework is the needle minder as they are so lovely and since I usually have several projects going at the same time, it is imperative for me to keep the proper needle attached to each one. The one accessory I would love to have is a K’s Creations holder that clamps on wooden stretcher bars of all sizes. Thx for this opportunity Mary and have a Happy New Year!!! Missy

Hi Mary, thanks again for a lovely giveaway, the Mother-of-Pearl accessories and the peacock needle keeper are beautiful. My favourite accessory is my late Mother’s floor stand, and it has a square hoop which is great at maintaining it’s tension on the fabric but it is not practical for smaller projects. Fortunately the floor stand takes all sizes of hoops. The accessory I would most like to have is a lap frame, especially last night when I was trying to do lots of French Knots. I shall have to get the floor stand out of the cupboard & sit on a hard chair, not on the soft couch.

I have a painful hip problem and my favorite want would be a really nice adjustable frame hoop. One of those nice wood ones that is adjustable to height and angle. That way I could adjust it as I need to adjust my hip and could stitch longer.

I recently took up embroidery as an added feature to quilting and found that I love it so much, I just can’t stop. My favourite tool has to be my Ott lite and magnifier. Withouth light and magnification, I would never be able to work at my needle crafts. Thanks so much for all your great tips and tricks.
DebbieB

Hello Mary,
Thank you so much for the giveaway! My favorite embroiderie accessory is my floor stand. It allows me to use both my hands. It keeps en even tension on my work. Also, I can easily roll it in a corner in between stitching sessions to keep my work out of the ways.

WOW – double WOW! What a wonderful give away! I’ve never seen anything like them…
A thimble is the tool I can’t stitch without…now I just need to find one I like. My fingers never bothered me before, but lately they seem to get all chewed up when I stitch……
What I would really like to find is a cool way to store and identify my needles…something special….I like the little wooden tubes – I need to find a way to incorporate those into some kind of storage facility that is convenient and can also identify what needles are in each tube???????
There are a whole lot more elaborate tools out there – luckily I don’t have room for any more stuff………….well maybe a little – just a few things!!! hee, hee…
hugs
arlene

What a cute bunch of tools! And, of course, the Trish Burr kit is beautiful.
My favorite accessory right now is beeswax – couldn’t do my metal work without it.
What I would love to have someday is a slate frame on a stand. I watched the old movie “The Heiress” not too long ago and Oliva de Haviland was using what looked like a slate frame on a stand – it looked so elegant. Isn’t that the way we want to look while doing needlework??

My current favorite needle work tool is/are the little thread-holder cards I’ve finally made up to loop cut pieces of thread through (with color # written next to hole) for use on my currents projects. Next on my list to acquire: a thread-laying tool, and eventually either a slate-frame on a stand, or a tambour hoop on a lap-stand. Since I don’t really want to grow a third hand . . . .
Love your newsletter, especially the ecclesiastical embroidery, it’s beautiful!

My favorite tool is the pair of tiny gold scissors my husband bought for me ten years ago. They’ve never been sharpened and are still going strong. With tiny baldes — about a half inch long and the sharp point they are perfect for cutting threads and helping me remove “bad” stitches.

My favourite accessory is my floor standing frame. I love the fact that it means I can use both hands when sewing. The one I am currently using is rather old but it has given me long, sterling service.

Thank you for running this give away. I would love to win the needlepainting kit. Although I have various books by Trish, I have yet to get myself organised enough to actually take the plunge and try it! The mother of pearl accessories are also very pretty.

Here’s wishing you a very Happy New Year with lots of exciting embroidery projects 🙂

Good morning to you Mary,
Thank you for offing another give-a-way. To have a kit by Trish would be something out of this world. My favorite tool to work with is a laying tool as with age my tremors are very noticable and this little tool helps so much. I just cannot give up needle work.
Wishing you and yours a very Happy and Healthy New Year.
Prayerfully
jean marie

My most favorite tool is my clover thread cutter pendant. I travel between Scotland and Oregon quite frequently. Due to the obvious restrictions on what you can carry on the plane, I take my thread cutter instead of scissors. I once forgot them and boy did I have sore fingers at the end of the flight from trying to break the thread with my hands! Heaven forbid though if I didn’t have my embroidery to pass the time on these very long flights.

My favourite accessory is my hoop which is on a lap stand. I used to use an ordinary wooden hoop but my wrists used to get quite sore after holding it for so long. The lap stand takes away the pain and is so easy to use.

I also love the MOP accessories. They make me feel quite special when I use the ones that I have and a girl can never have enough of them.

Dear Mary
Dear Mary
Thanks to you I have ‘found’ Trish Burr and I purchased her dvd for a dear friend for Christmas. I would dearly love to win the kit and give it as well.
The needlework tools are really lovely. Mother of pearl is so tactile.
Cheers from New Zealand

Happy New Year Mary ! So many favorites but my floor frame is the most used. On the wish list :
The floor frame shown in old needlework books with the screw type sides which allow for increasing or releasing tension as you work. It also turns 360*.
The table clamp that holds a hoop and can be turned 360*

Love the give away. Mother of pearl is so nice to the touch and threads slide on it nicely. Better than wood or cardboard either of which can discolor threads.
Trish Burr kit – wonderful way to start the new year.
All the best,
ji

my favorite would have to be some needle threaders i got from clotilde. they are very long loops of an extremely thin wire, just closed at the bottom. they work like any needle threader, but wont come apart like the ones we’re all familiar with. and will fit any needle unlike the new hard threaders. they will also thread any size thread up to a bulkier yarn. i have eyeritis and am losing my eyesight but not so much that i can’t still stitch! but to thread a needle was becoming a chore until i found these needle threaders.

Thanks for the wonderful give away and Happy New Year! My favorite accessory is my little needlecase because it was made for me by one of my online blogging friends. I would really like to have some type of system that would store my threads more easily and coherently. I haven’t really found one I like so far though.

My favorite is my thread snips. (nippers) For some reason I have trouble with scissors? I love my snips. What I would really like to have is a good light. I just love that peacock needle minder. So pretty!
Happy New Year to Mary and everyone.
Pam H

Hello, I really enjoy your site. Thinking of my very favorite needwork accessory, my mind jumps immediately to my collection of scissors. I have more pair than most have shoes! I love a delicate, extra sharp, pair of lovely embroidery scissors. Following a close second would be my extensive collection floss. Thanks for this opportunity! Have a great New Year!

Mary,
I really enjoy your blog, and have great admiration for all you do – teaching, blogging, stitching . . . Thanks for keeping us all inspired. I couldn’t do without my Ott light, I love thread organizers, I have a variety of pretty needlebooks, but the most practical “tool” for me is my collection of clear plastic shoe boxes that I use as project organizers. I’m one of those people who jumps from one thing to another, and my boxes help me maintain some small illusion of order.
Thanks for all your work.
Nancy

What accessory would I like to have?
That’s a really hard one, there’s so much that I want. I suppose, only choosing one, that I’d have to go with the thread drops thread organizing card things (can’t recall what they’re actually named) as my thread is a mess!
Thanks for offering a great giveaway (again)!

What is your favorite needlework accessory or tool and why?
————————–
I’m not sure of the correct name, I call it a lace makers needle, but I had it specially made by a lace makers husband for punching paper embroidery patterns. The needle and vice or chuck section is more robust than a lace workers, and the handle is beautifully turned fine grained wood. I use it for a lot of things, and when not in use it’s in a pincushion right by my sewing machine where I can admire it.

Love your website, I’ve been lurking and learning here for a while. My favorite accessory is a modified thimble: it is one of the flexible latex/plastic ones that used to have a metal tip. The tip got in the way, so I tore it off, and just use the ring of latex. Very comfortable and it works perfectly for me.

My favorite tool is my rose wood laying tool – it is as smooth and beautiful as it is useful. I had no idea how much difference this would make in my stitching when I use multiple threads. My favorite accessory is a Vera Bradley small clip box that is plastic lined that I usen to carry all of my needwork tools.

Thank you for such a wonderful blog to read. It is full of great information. The accessory that I would most like to have is a hoop on a stand that sits in my lap. I have one for quilting and I love it but it seems to large for embroidery. I would love to win the kit to further my embroidery education and I am basically new to embroidery. thanks again.

My answer is an odd one… I have the one item I think would really make a difference, I just don’t know how to use it properly. That would be a slate frame. I bought two sets a few years ago. Both has the wooden pegs, and those pegs fall out when I move it when it is laced up, so it needs something else to hold the frame taut.

I’d also like to try Japanese needles, as I’ve heard they are worth the price. Someday I’ll splurge.

My favorite accessories are scissors. I have way more than I need, and get a feeling of joy when I run across a pair I haven’t seen in a while (usually in a bag with a WIP).
Thank you for your generosity, with the give-away, but also with your work.
Jane

I use beads in my needlework so for me my favorite accessory is the bead mat that I work off of. I also have metallic threads all ready threaded on needles attached to my bead mat so when I need to accent here or there, it is easy to get them all together.

So generous of you to offer yet another gift. Thank you. I would agree that my light, a full spectrum, and my needles are my favorite accessories. I would love to have something to keep the floss that I am working with smooth and tangle free. Since I usually sew with just two strands, I always have bits of two other strands, or four, lying about. Messy.

Hi Mary.
Happy new Year and thanks again for the opportunity to enter the draw for the delightful accessories and Trishs’ fabulous kitset. :).
Wouldnt you love one of those metal chatelaines.Everything on one belt done in beautiful silver.Ive seen some vintage ones and they are exquisite.Like you I think lovely accessories add to the overall experience of stitching.
regards
Phillipa in New zealand

What marvelous give-away gifts you offer.
My favourite accessory is a woolen needlebook-really just a lined cover- which holds a great variety of needles.
I would love to own a good magnifier as my eyes are not what they were.
Thanks for the great tute on Raised Cup stitch.

My favourite needlwork tool is a difficult question. I love my Ott-lite but I think a good selection of needles is probably essential as I do a lot of different needlework styles and always like to have the right needle for the task at hand.

Such a beautiful giveaway.It would be wonderful to win and learn needle painting.
I guess without my needles and scissors I couldn’t do much, I would like to get a laying tool,though.I hear so much about them.
Have a wonderful New Year

I would LOVE to have a hussif (husiff) to keep all of my tools in order, and in one place. I hate making new years resolutions, but I really need to make one this year! My favorite tools? I love, love, love scissors of any kind.

Hope the coming year is wonderful for all of us.

Carolyn in southern California, where the rain has finally left, and the sunshine is bright and warm.

Happy New Year Mary! What a lovely thought. Start the new year out right with some great give aways! Would love to add them to my embroidery “stash” as always. Hope your New Year is full of great things.
Brenda

Hi, My favorite accessory is my small embroidery frame where I have all my work, especially cross stitch.
The accessory that I would take would be a modern frame with a good magnifying glass to not spoil my view too. Thanks for letting me participate in your wonderful drawing.
Happy New Year! with his family.

The very first thing I thought of was needles, but I think my favorite tools would have to be (combined) your video instructions, SharonB’s stitch dictionary and the couple of books I borrowed from my sister, because that’s where I’m learning new stitches beyond the 10 +/- I knew a year ago. Right now what I want is a set of hoops/frames so I can learn to keep my tension even. (I never needed one for x-stitch.)

Hi Mary!
I hope you had a happy holiday and are soon to begin a great New Year!What a wonderful gift for you to give-away!I’ve been subscribed to and followed your blog for awhile now,and even though I have’nt but my hand to work on needle painting,I love it and have bought all kinds of needles and threads! I plan to start one day…and winning this gift would probably give me a boost.My favorite accessory would have to be an embroidery hoop stand or whatever those stand up things were that the Victorian women used back in the day! Oh, and a wool cutter for rug hooking! Thank you for the blog and all the wonderful links and videos on embroidering!
Yours Truly,
Sherri V. from Ohio

Oh, I would LOVE to win the kit & those beautiful accessories. I feel the same about accessories … I think it’s some sort of disease! Gotta be. Anyway, I have a “thing” for little scissors & beautiful floss, but my necessity is a needle threader. Without a threader, I either couldn’t do any work or I’d have to adopt an elf with excellent eyesight. My dream equipment would be one of those fancy schmancy work stations with the holder for your work, the magnifier and the arm that feeds you a cookie while you work. I’ll find one … someday.

Hi Mary, I recently subscribed and have to say I love receiving and reading your daily emails and your website is chockful of info. I love it!! You have got me thinking about trying more needlework, especially on my quilts. Currently I am immersed in applique quilts and am working on a Baltimore quilt. I would very much like to embellish it with various embroidery stitches. I would love to make an embroidery sampler. Never enough time!!

My favorite needlework accessories are my Ott lamp and my size 11 needles, but then again I mostly do applique at the moment. I would love to try different needles and see the difference they make!

Hello Mary !! I love reading your things! I don’t understand this technology stuff ,but I try . My favorite tools were my scissors (they had a stork ) my mother had given them to me ,and all my needles .I was driving through the country left my car in parking lot while I got a snack and when I got back my car and everything in it were stolen ,Oh yeah ! My insurance covered my old beat up car ,but not my small treasure (crochet needles and all my embridery needles ) Slowly I’m trying to buy some things but where I live everything is imported and expensive ,but I do what I can with what I have And I love it ,It’s rustic I know ,but I enjoy it very much!!!!Have a great Year love Olga from Argentina !!!!

My favourite needlework accessory is my laptop computer. I run into difficulties quite often and all I have to do is go to a website or watch a short video and hey, presto, I am on my way again. There are no needlework teachers here, so if I can not work out how to do something it is tricky. My laptop is so much more convenient than running to a book. Then again I might not even have the right book.

I find the must useful tool I have when working canvas work is my trolley needle. It allows me to control the threads to help achieve an even look to the finished project. I would love a project type bag or container that could be opened out and everything was in its correct place and would magically return to it’s home at the end of each stitching session.

Hello Mary, thankyou for another great give away.
My most favourite accessory are little embroidery scissors, they come in so many beautiful designs and I love collecting them when i’m able to. One day I would like a mother of pearl pair. Scissors for me are very important and I like them to be nice and sharp, especially when doing stumpwork.
I would love to win this latest give away so Ican give the kit to my special friend as I have given her the book for Christmas.I love the mother of pearl pieces and I would keep that for myself.

What tool would I like to have? So many choices! I would love to have a slate frame to use on my current project which is massive (a cloth for the Gospel book in my church.) Or an Ott light. Or pattern software that doesn’t turn scans into jumbles of colors which don’t resemble anything. Or . . . too many things to choose from! LOL
Alessandra from CT

Favorite Tool – well I have two, one of which is VERY basic. The first tool is my good old trusty thimble. The thimble I have is one I bought years ago from a quilt shop; it has a metal ring at the top of the thimble to keep the needle from sliding off the edge. I can’t find these thimbles anymore and I don’t know what I will do when I finally lose that last one I have. I use it everyday on all sorts of needlework and sewing.

The other favorite tool is my laying tool. Working with multiple plies of thread at a time this tool is so helpful in getting the threads to lie smooth and next to each other, not twisted or lumpy. I use it with any thread I am having to lay but I especially like it for silk – the sheen of the threads is so much prettier when the threads lay flat and next to each other like they are suppose to.

I have lots of other tools but these are the two I cannot live without.

I am leaving a comment for the first time. The Mother of Pearl thread rings and keepers are beautiful – I have never seen anything like them. I have just recently gotten back to stitching since retiring.
I guess I would like to have a lighted magnifier since I can really see the difference when using a friend’s. Would love to have those thread keepers, too.
Have tried thread painting and loved it.

Another chance to win one of these fantastic kits -great!
My favorite tool is my pair of scissors with a little hook at the tip of one point which are absolutely fabulous for Hardanger, and also for clipping little threads on the back as you can get under just one thread and know exactly what you are picking up and clipping.
Yhank you for the chance to win these items, Mary.

Flat out favorite tool is a pair of high precision tweezers made for electronics assembly. Pointy, precise, easy to use, with a long nose, they are perfect for tweaking out fuzz and thread ends when counted work needs to be removed and redone. I saw a co-worker using a pair for their original purpose, and had to run out and buy one for myself. Worth every penny.

I think my favorite accessory is a little needle book I made…. it has a little pocket in the front that holds a couple of bobbins and a pocket in the back with a ribbon to tie scissors to with felt pages in the middle… it is the perfect pocket sized travel kit.

Mary,
My favorite tool is the laying tool takabari. It has helped to improved my stitching and I am so please with the beautiful results. It is always in my hand to smooth out threads and also to help keep the tension on my threads as I stitch.

Mary,
This is an incredible way to end 2010! I love antiques and I dream very large! SO- I would LOVE to have an English 17th century stumpwork sewing cabinet! I have seen these in exhibits and museums- they are so incredible! Meanwhile back on earth, thank you for all your inspiration during this past year, and I look forward to even more in the new year. May you have a wonderful 2011!
Peg

Hi Mary, I am thoroughly enjoying, and learning from, your daily blog. My favorite embroidery tool is my “trolley needle” or laying tool. I use it in doing Cross Stitch, Needlepoint, Crewelwork, Hardanger and even when I sew at my machine. I have worn out several but have noticed how much it benefits my work. I love the designs from Trish Burr and would now like to try my trolley needle while doing needlepainting. Thank you and Happy New Year. Floss Hurley

Mary:
My favorite tool has to be my floor-stand Ott light with the flexible arm magnifier. My poor old eyes would go crossed without them! If I had one thing I could buy, it would be a really good floor stand so I could move from my sewing room when I wanted.
I also love accessories – I have a lot – and the mother-of-pearl ones in the give-a-way are very pretty. Thanks for sharing your wisdom and your stash!

My favorite needlework accessory is my little square silver needle minder. It is the perfect size for any project, and I never lose my needles anymore. It makes stitching so much easier now that I have a place to park my needle.
Thank you so much for the chance to win your wonderful give-away, Mary!

Hi Mary,
I have recently taken started to embroider again. I’d started making flour sack tea towels when I was about 8 and continued until shortly after having my first baby. But now the kids are grown and moved (or moving) on.
I came across your site while searching for one item that I would really like to have – a floor stand. (that and a illuminated magnifier)
After a cursory exploration, I know I am going to love your site.
Thank you.

Hi Mary,
I have recently started to embroider again. I’d started making flour sack tea towels when I was about 8 and continued until shortly after having my first baby. But now the kids are grown and moved (or moving) on.
I came across your site while searching for one item that I would really like to have – a floor stand. (that and a illuminated magnifier)
After a cursory exploration, I know I am going to love your site.
Thank you.

Happy New Year! If I could have any needle work accessory I would choose a Dazor magnifying floor lamp. My eyes are no longer what they used to be and I need all the help I can get. Wish I had the eyes I had at 30!

I am sitting in my favorite needlework accessory. I have a wonderfully large recliner that I love to stitch in. My back never gets sore and I find I can stitch for quite a long time. I would love to try needle painting, it is beautiful and maybe I will be inspired to stitch some of my own artwork. I do have to say my least favorite needlework accessory is the pair of readers that I have to stitch with since my last birthday.

Mary your generosity never fails to astound me; in a world seemingly full of grasping people you are definitely a ‘one-off’.

That said, of course I am going to put my bid in for this wonderful give away. I would love to try my hand at one of Trish’s designs, and as for the little accessory things … well, can you tell I am drooling …..

Thanks again, and I hope your Christmas was great and your New Year will be better.

My favourite accessory is my needlebook where I store all my needles, labelled so I know what I am using and where to find what I need. My dream accessory would be a combination light/magnifying glass for when I am making tiny stitches (or more likely, trying to frog stitch them … you know the story, ripit, ripit, ripit.) I do love love love mother of pearl and would be far more likely to use those gorgeous things on my work rather than as accessories.

I will have to answer the second question because I’ve made up my mind to save my pin money for one of those combination lights/magnifiers/pattern holders on a stand. I get SO frustrated with my pattern continually sliding off my lap and would love to have a great light and something to corral my pattern at the same time. Another fun giveaway Mary – thank you.

All these years of embroidering and I have yet to buy a needle keeper. They are SO pretty and useful, but I still stick my needle back in the fabric. Would love the peacock one in this great giveaway! Thanks for everything you do. May you have a great New Years!

My favourite needlework accessory is a silk needlebook with an embroidered Jacobean design down its length. I made it soon after becoming a member of the local embroiderers’ guild and I love it.
Blessings for 2011.

Hello Mary,
I am so enjoying all the helpful tips and ideas you share with us each day. I’m sure my skills and stash are benefiting hugely! As for my favourite needlework accessory … it would have to be the very first project I made – a gorgeous embroidered hussif that sits snug across my knees when I am working and keeps all my smaller necessities close at hand. At first I kept it for “good” but now it is used daily and reinforces for me the absolute joy of stitching.

Hi Mary,
I love your blog and have learned so many things from it. Thank you for taking the time to do the blog.
As for my favorite needlework accessory, I have to be honest and say that all of the ones that I have are my favorite. I am an accessory “nut” and switch around to different ones all of the time and they constantly please me. And, of course, there is always room for more!!
Anne

Thank you for a very nice newsletter, I find it very informative and enjoy seeing the pics of projects and things. I have to say that my favorite tool these days are needle threaders,. My eyes are aging with the rest of me and without them I have a very hard time threading the embroidery needles…and I love my little sharp scissors, because they are so handy for these type of projects…I think one thing that I would love to have is an Ott light, but it just isn’t in my budget for now…keep up the good work. Rebecca Keith

I love my little accessories. Sure I could stitch just fine with out adornments, but it’s part of the stitching ritual, just a minute or two to lay out the pretties that are just for me. I don’t have a needle minder instead just the really bad habit of sticking the needles with threads into the arm of my couch, this annoys my husband and cat. but my favorite is my magnifier that hangs around my neck and my ott light. Old eyes can’t stitch without either of these.

You never cease to amaze me with your generosity. In a world where it often seems like every one for themselves it’s nice to know there are still bright lights. I’m lucky enough to live in a small country town of such bright lights. My favourite sewing item is my caddy. It is full of neat little pockets for needle packs, threads, scissors,thimbles anything you can imagine, and light enough to take anywhere. Have a great New Year everyone.

Hi Mary,
I just love your site and look forward to it and all the inspiration you give each day. i don’t know how you keep up – good on you.
I’d love to win the Trish Burr kit to try the thread painting that you give so many articles on.
My favourite tool is a sunflower thread cutter. It is so cheerful and useful too.
All the best for 2011.
Kind Regards,
Emily

Dear Mary,
My favorite sewing and embroidery accessory would be sharp easy to handle scissors. I would like to try the Trish Burr kit using thread painting. Thank you for your generous giveaway. Looking forward to enjoying the New Year and your wonderful posts. Thanks for keeping us in stitches, Nikki Pacheco Theard

Those mother of pearl accessories are absolutely beautiful, Mary. I especially like the thread keep. I would like to own many hoops in all the sizes and shapes available. I prefer to work with a hoop that fits the whole piece of embroidery I am working on. This way I can always view the progress without having to take off the hoop and always continuing work without having to always reposition the hoop.

Hi Mary,
Thank you for all you do to enlighten everyone about embroidery.
My favorite tool is a small pair of needlework scissors in the shape of a cat; also a needle minder with a sleeping puppy on it.
I would love to win the Trish Burr kit. I think her website is inspiring.
Happy Stitching in 2011!

Happy New Year! Thank you for once aain giving us the opportunity to win such a great gift! My favorite tool is an embroidery thread keep, made out of mother-of-pearl. It’s vintage. I found it at an antique shop many years ago. It’s my favorite because it’s beautiful and worn and shaped like a flower.

It’s very generous of you to give us another chance at such a beautiful gift.

Hi Mary,
What a generous giveaway. I love your site, it is the first thing I do every morning after breakfast!
My favourite accessory is my ‘dragonflies’ needleminder, it is so very useful and also looks rather whimsical perched on my fabric.
Thanks for everything you do to encourage us stitchers, and a very Happy New Year!

Hi Mary,
The accessory I would love to have would be the peacock needle minder. I would give this to my 90 year old mother who still embroiders almost every day (The church bazare loves her.) She looses needles on the floor or leaves them in her couch arm. When I take her great grandchildren to visit the first thing I do is get on my hands and knees to search for needles before I put the babies on the floor. Also she loves peacocks. If I don’t win I’m going to purchase one for her. Thanks so much for all of your inspiration.
Happy New Year!
Claudia Butler

My favorite thing is my hoop, it was my grandmothers and every time I use it I think of her and what she taught me. I want to thank you for this newsletter it is so awesome and I have learned so much. Please keep it coming.
Bless ya
Gwen

My favorite accessory is those frames that have two split dowels on either end to put your fabric in while you work on it. The dowels are then turned to maintain tension on your fabric. I was even able to mend a headband piece I found at a swap meet. It was missing a couple of the coins and shells and threads. Afterwards I was able to use it to securely hold my veil in place on a costume and I didn’t break anymore of the shells!

My favourite tool/gadget is my flip-up magnifier glasses. They work well with bifocals. I can focus on my work as well as the rest of the room. The added bonus is that my husband enjoys my company while he watches T.V.
All the best in 2011!
Joy D.

Dear Mary,
I would love to have a lamp with a magnifying lens to aid in my embroidery and counting of stitches. As I get older, I need more help than I use to when younger.
Thank you for being so generous and have a wonderful New Year.

Love your blog. I enjoy doing embroidery work while watching TV. It helps me relax after a stressfull day at work. I really could use one of those lamps that have a magnifier attached to it. My eyes just are not what they used to be.

Hi Mary,
I stumbled across your website a while ago and am so glad I did. I really enjoy your instructional videos and all your posts. I have just recently started to embroidery. There are no shops around here to offer any help. We have a Wal-Mart or I can drive 65 miles to a Hobby Lobby. Neither have much to offer.

I think my favorite accessory would be a good instruction manual for left handed people! I couldn’t function without my floor lamp with the magnifier.

I would love to win the Trish Burr kit although I’m afraid I couldn’t do it justice. In the mean time, I’ll keep practicing.

Thank you for taking the time to do the posts, for sharing your talents and for your generosity with all the give aways.

Hello and Happy New Year. My favorite, my standing floor Ottlite with magnifier. Just stitting under that lite can make one feel better. (Probabbly why every one of my rooms has “natural” light bulbs in at least one fixture.) If a lite is not a tool, then my choice would be leather thimbles. Since I professionally stitch they can save my finger.

I have so many accessories and tools, that it is very hard to pick just one. However, my Lowery workstand makes my life so much easier, I would have to say that it is the most important tool that I own. A little pesky cataract is making my life a little challenging, so I think I would say that if I could have anything in the whole wide world, it would be a craftoptic loupe. You really do have to be tough in order to handle getting older. .
Thanks for the contest, and Happy New Year!

I’ve been looking at needlework frame holders, and the one I keep coming back to is Threadneedle Street’s K’s Creations Lap Frame. This one seems stable enough to work with, yet mobile (which is important to me).
I’m new to your site, but bookmarked it as soon as I found it – both for the in depth lessons in the archives and the ongoing blog. Thanks for all the wisdom and know-how that you share.

My favorite stitching accessory is a small mother of pearl thread winder – I keep it in my tool basket and enjoy the way various threads look wound around it. Sure would like to have some others to share the basket space with it!

What a great giveaway. My favorite needlework “tool” is probably my container of thread heaven, 2nd would be my tacky bead mat for beading. I would love to have Carole Samples’ dream a seam templates. Can you tell that I am a crazy quilter?

Hi Mary, I would love to have one of those Needlework System 4 stands that you reviewed.I don’t having anything right now but I would really love to have my hands free for two handed stitching. I would also love to try one of Trish’s kits. Needlepainting is on my list to learn as an extension of the botanical watercolors that I do.Thanks so much for all the goodies you give away to us. Susie

Hi,
I don’t currently have many stitching accessories, the one I value the most is my threadcutter. I find it extremely useful when traveling, now that the powers that be have decided that embroidery scissors are a dangerous weapon. It means that I can sit and stitch instead of stressing at the airport or on the plane.
I would love one of those floor stand/lamp magnifying glass/light set ups as well, but it can sometimes be hard to justify.
Kylie

What a wonderful group of prizes. I hope to be the lucky gal who calls them her own! There is no doubt that I could not stitch a thing without my needles (all of the different varieties!), my light & magnifier and my scissors so they are just considered to be such staple items one cannot say they are favorites, just MUST HAVES, lol. I love my trolley needle and it would be a favorite item over and above the MUST HAVES. Threads & fabrics delight me with their color, textures and versatility. Needlework is sensual and tactile so I love everything about it.

These are just lovely! Quite honestly, if I could choose anything on the market, I’d still choose the peacock needle minder. First, I don’t have a needle minder, and second, I absolutely fell in love with its graceful design. It’s absolutely beautiful!
Happy New Year!

Thanks for all your online activities, especially the video tutorials!

My favourite needlework accessory are the special (antique) wooden thread drawers of DMC, like they are using in shops. Unfortunately a lot of specialized shops are closing in the Netherlands, but I never managed to buy their drawers so far.

Hi Mary,
ooooh, such difficult questions you’re always asking. After much consideration: A light-table, because taping pattern and fabric to the window and waiting for a bright day is sometimes a little… awkward.

Hi Mary,
Thank you once again for your generosity. My favourite sewing accessory is a pair of curved Bohin scissors. I bought them when I attended Koala Conventions for the 1st time in 2006. They are fabulous for cutting curves as in Stump Work leaves and petals and also for Hardanger and Cut Work as I can always see the tips and exactly what I am cutting.
In my professional life I am a Theatre Nurse and curved scissors are always used for dissection so the tips can be seen and the surgeon is not cutting blind. I thought the same would apply to my needlework and it does. I love my curved scissors they have saved me from many an accident or near miss and give me a better finish.

Wish you a very happy new year!!
I would love to have the peacock needleminder.. I am teaching y daughter (she is 9 years) to embroider.. She will show more interest if I show her such beaustiful accessories.. Girls love accessories 🙂

I adore all the bits and pieces but seem to have developed a thing about sissors! Just bought the most adorable little pair at a craft show – visited the stand FIVE times asking myself just how many pairs does one person need?! Gave in, bought them, and then my Mother gave me an even smaller delicate pair – where will it end??! I believe having lovely things to use are a delight (even if they don’t improve my techniques). May I wish you a very Happy, Healthy and organised (!) New Year.

Hi Mary
My VERY favourite needlework tool is my needle-threader! I’d never get past threading the needle if not for that! I went away last year with all my supplies to stitch with my friend, but …. my threader was missing. Every time I needed to thread a needle, my poor friend had to come to the party & help me out! I have neither good eyesight, nor a steady hand, so trying to stitch I can manage, but not without my trusty needle-threader!!
BTW For any aircraft travellers out there … When travelling by plane I always take some needlework with me. I use the cutter on the dental floss container to cut my threads. When they stopped even tiny stork scissors coming on aircraft, I tried nail-clippers … until the regulations changed & they were no longer acceptable. After having so many taken from me over the years, I found this little tip to be the best way to cut a thread.
HAPPY NEW YEAR to you & all the other needle-workers who have been fortunate enough to find your site! 🙂
Cheers …
Wendy

What a great giveaway! My favourite needlework accessory is my white light lamp, it’s great for stitching pale threads on pale cloth. What I’d love most? Well, it’s just a little thing and I have NO idea why I haven’t bought one, but I want a magnetic needle keep as I’m forever losing my needle!

Hi Mary, I so much enjoy reading your daily emails. Have learned a LOT from them. I am interested in receiving this Trish Burr kit as I am a novice needlepainter and enjoy the technique (have learned from you!). I LOVE needlework tools especially scissors and thread winders and these are gorgeous! I hope to win, but will keep reading your email lessons because I have learned so much already from them. The tutorials are wonderful learning tools. Thanks so much, Mary. Look forward to your emails in 2011. Happy New Year!

I too would love to win the giveaway! My favorite accessories that I use for all my sewing, needlecrafts, and jewelry is a very bright halogen lamp that is adjustable at any angle and height, a needle threader, and a great pair of embroidery scissors that requires very little effort to cut with and is very sharp.

Happy New Year Mary, Once again, you spoil your readers, Thank you.
I would love to find a super good magnifying lamp…with age, it is a necessity and my favorite item, is a good needle work stand and stretcher bars.
France

Dear Mary,
My favourite needlework accessory would have to be my magnifier which I clip onto to my glasses. Without them I would not be able to see well enough to do the fine needlework which I enjoy. My next favourite would be my magnifier/lamp which is also very useful, especially at night. I love pretty things and like to collect needlework tools for my sewing box. I am a fan of Trish Burr, so winning one of her kits would be lovely.

Hi Mary- to have a look (and read your comments) at your studio is very comforting- to hear, that other people have the same problems with “overcrowded” studios or ateliers makes me feel not alone:-)(I have reorganized my sewing -atelier in august 2009, it was wonderful to loook at all these well-packed shells, and now, by the end of 2010, I’m nearly drowning in materials- fabrics, patterns, books…)
But anyway: it’s a great luxury to have a room, where you can work at all these wonderful textile things.
Thank you very much for your every-day-newsletter! It’s delightful , interesting, amusing and not at least very instructive! Stay well also in 2011, I wish you all the best!
sincerely
martina

Wow another chance to get a Trish Burr kit. I would love to win it.
Now to answer your question about favorite accessory, that will be a good electric lamp for me, if possible with a magnifying lens attached to help in small embroidery stitches.

My favorite notion/accessory if you can call it that is mounting board with a sticky back. This board has saved me lots of time mounting embroidery work for framing. Merry Christmas to everyone and May God bless you in the New Year.

Thanks for your wonderful website! I follow along on Facebook and enjoy your posts. I think the one accessory I would love is a set of stretcher bar frames in all the sizes! LOL If I had every size, that would be lovely! I think my Embroiderers Guild ladies would love to look at the Trish B kit, and all the little accessories you’ve thrown in there.

Hi
I *love* gadgets … embroidery, kitchen, electronic, automotive … all gadgets!! But collecting (or looking at) embroidery gadgets tops my list and offers opportunities for lots of scouring of shops to find the latest. A special thrill is finding the perfect embroidery gadget in the automotive section (super magnets) or drugstore (hemostats). The top gadget in my stash is definitely my cord winder … it works great and is fun to use! It was also a show-stopper at the youth group I used to help with. The first instruction reads “ask a friend to help you” and they always took that very literally and quite formally 🙂

Hi Mary
Well, what I really need at the mo is not exactly an accessory, rather a little room to use as my “studio” – I have all my embroidery paraphernalia lying around the lounge: NOT nice for the rest of the family! Love your converted garage, even if it´s disorganised – it´s YOUR space.
Have a good new year….

Oooh, you ask a tough question Mary. I don’t know if this would count as it isn’t strictly a needlework accessory, but I absolutely love those slim clear plastic box files you can buy. They are absolutely brilliant for keeping needlework kits together, are easy to tote around and you can see what is in each one with just a glance.

I really don’t have a favorite “tool” other than a hoop,needle and scissors. I do love your suggestions and I have really been finishing those long ago started projects. In fact I just finished a “Merrily Beams” project I started in 1987 and I am having it framed and giving it to one of my daughters. Thank you for your newsletters!
Sue Ames

Have learned alot from your blog. Would love to have the needleworking tools. What a great help they would be Not to mention that they are beautiful too! Keep up the great tuts. Happy New Year to you and yours.

My favourite needlework accessory has to be my daylight magnifying lamp. It has made my life so much easier because I can now read charts of needlework projects I thought I would never finish, I can see colours much better in the evenings so now I can stitch for longer. I have also recently started doing Schwalm embroidery with the help of that wonderful book by Luzine Happel that you reviewed and I couldn’t have done the drawn threadwork without my lamp.
Your blog is an inspiration, thank you for sharing with us.

My favorite is my new Ott lite with magnifier! My hubby got it for me for Christmas (I’ve wanted one for years and he listened! It helps these old eyes so I can stitch some smaller things. I would love to try needle painting. Happy 2011 may it be a good year for us all!

My favorite accessory that I can not live without are all my sewing friends. We share so much knowledge and friendship. Of course there are all the other things, good lighting, needles, threads, Ott lights, etc. I don’t have any of the beautiful pearl gadgets but I’d love to. Thanks for such a beautiful site.

Thank you for such a generous give away. I have many memories of my Mother embroidering as a child – it’s something that I’ve always wanted to learn. I’m so glad to have discovered your blog! The one tool I would love to have is a stylish, portable sewing box. I’m forever losing track of my tools and I just can’t stand plastic boxes! Wishing you a very happy NEw Year!

Hi Mary, I’m Monica writing to you from Ecuador. First of all…HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Second, thank you for such a beautiful giveaway!! Now to answer one of your questions: I guess that if I could have one tool that would dazzle my embroidering life it would be a white light magnifying lamp. When it starts getting dark out nowadays I just can’t embroider, my eyes begin to water and I can’t focus enough, so I have to quit at a certain time. This is one of the items that I have on my wish list for 2011!!

Oh, but it’s hard to choose just ONE favorite needlework tool (otherwise known as TOY!). Scissors always come to the top of the list (who can ever have enough?) but I do have a beautifully turned wooden laying tool that represents Henry VIII and has moveable rings around the top – all carved from a single piece of rosewood. It is so beautiful and so much fun to handle (even if I don’t do much laying of threads).

New Year’s Resolution: try to stitch at least 5 minutes each day – and get some projects finished!

Organization – always a headache and an ever-evolving project. Always wanting more shelving for more plastic boxes! But we just have to keep picking away at it every day – and must realize that a totally non-messy studio is a non-creative one (at least in my opinion!).

My favorite current accessory is my very cool scissors my husband bought for me because he knew I would love them. What I would love to have a really great needlework stand, with magnets on the side to park my needles 🙂 I’m 5’10” so I have yet to find one really fits my height.

I don’t have really a special embroidery accessory since I have just started learning embroidery , thanks to you .
I was looking forward to your Christmas Give away because it was very valuable to someone like me 😉
I just wish you a happy new year and Merry Christmas

My favorite accessory is something inspired by a post of yours! You mentioned using beeswax when doing goldwork. Although I have not yet attained the dizzy heights of confidence needed to even attempt goldwork, I recently branched out into Crewel embroidery.
I love the different look I can get with the wool threads, but I had trouble getting those fuzzy ended strands through the needle. So when I read your post about beeswax, I got out my new tube of handmade beeswax ‘lip soother’ and touched it to the end of the thread.
Voila! The thread went right through the needle, and the end would be cut off anyway when I was finished with that strand, so even if there was a color change, it wouldn’t be a part of the embroidery.
That little tube of lip balm went right into my kit, and there it stays – an inexpensive, quick solution.

How very generous of you to offer such a lovely gift! Thank you for your thoughtfulness (and your daily blog!)

My favorite needlework tools are those that I have inherited from my needleworking ancestors and friends. There are the tatting shuttles that came from great-grandma Brown; I adore the VERY large pink strawberry pincushion from Aunt Marion! The list goes on and includes such things as Aunt Hilda’s knitting needles (she taught me the fundamentals when I was four), and thimbles, thimbles, thimbles, only a few of which fit my large fingers. When I sew/embroider/knit (and yes, I use all of the tools) I always remember these dear people and the talents that they had and shared. I, too, am passing on the tools of the trade as my young friends embark on their own journeys of creativity.

I do have a new year’s resolution to try needelpainting, and Trish Burr’s designs are so lovely! My favorite needlework accessory is a high quality embroidery stand that my son and his wife gave me several years ago. It’s a tabletop stand and makes two handed embroidering a breeze. Of course I also love all the little beautiful tools as well. I have a few thread keeps, lovely small scissors, needle holders etc. Like you I have been planning an etui for years. Never can have too many pretty tools.
Happy new year to you and your readers.

Mary,
Thanks so much for a generous giveaway! I love your website and have learned a lot over the last year. Here’s wishing you and your family a very Happy New year!
I love my needlework box. Just the sight of the threads wonderfully arranged by color shades inspires me to stitch! I have not mastered needlepainting yet and hence I’d love to win the Trish Burr kit.
Happy New year!

Hi! I love doing so much things with differents tools, like knitting, crochetting, sewing and now with my 9 years old grand daugther, we began to do some embroidery. For me, it isn’t the first time I do some but I realize I’m more interested in learning some new stiches. And with internet and differents blogs it is easy to go more advanced. Thank you.

My favorite accessory is my soldi metal needle threader. It is flat and has a small flat metal hook on one end and a larger one on the other end. All the little, flimsy pressed aluminium sheets with a thin diamond shaped wire on the end and other threaders I have tried don’t hold up. My eye sight is much poorer than when I was young and, even with my glasses, I would be lost without that little tool. Your goodie package is wonderful. Love the embroidery Daisy Spray kit. The other little goodies are just a bonus. Love the six slot thread holder!! Thanks for the chance and happy new year!

I’m so happy with these give-aways! It put a little excitement in my days 🙂

I’m not an expert at all in embroidery, but I’d say that I would like two accessories in particular:

– One device to keep all my threads well sorted, but something bigger and prettier than those plastic boxes of metal rings. I don’t really know what it could be…

– A special pair of embroidery scissor. It is a bit silly but I feel an object like this would feel somewhat special, magic even(!) and would remind me of all the fairy tales of my childhood!
Thanks Mary!

What a lovely giveaway!
My favorite accessory/tool is my sweet Gingher stork embroidery scissors. It was my first “serious” embroidery tool and I just feel happy when I snip my threads with it. NOBODY is allowed to touch them (I have fears of them being mistaken for manicure scissors).

My favorite needlework accessory is my Needle Grabbit which holds different needles used for various types of fabrics for embroidery, quilting, etc. It has a magnet attached and prevents the needle from “going out of sight” whenever I need to pause my sewing. I keep it close to my project. Thank you for the opportunity to submit my comment for the give-away.

My favorite tool is a good pair of embroidery sissors because as a learner I do alot of frog stitches—ripit, ripit.
I look forward to receiving your emails because I do learn alot from them. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

Mary.
What a great giveaway. I read you blog everyday. I love wooden needlework boxes. I still have the wooden needlework box that my Father made for my Mother just after the war.I would love to own a MOP thread keeper. There is just something about MOP.Every good wish for the new year Mary.
Pam

My favorite needlework accessory is my Mag-Eyes. They “stay with me” when I move my head, and with the different lenses, I can magnify my work to get out the peskiest of tangles, or place the needle in exactly the right place. My second favorite accessory is the small (12 inch) plastic waste basket on my stitching table for all my orts. It helps to keep things clean!

Hi Mary,
My favorite accessory is my magnifying glass and my needle threader. I can’t see very well these days. I would love to have a case with all the little drawers to hold all of my embroidery thread. Thanks so much for your website, it has been so very helpful! Happy New Year!!
Diane

I’m addicted to awls! I have a mother of pearl awl I picked up on eBay that I just love for its sharp tip and very long and tapering shaft. I also have a bone awl (another eBay purchase) with a Stanhope viewer on top. I bought it for the viewer but also use it for eyelets. Another favorite is the stainless steel awl I bought from my tutor at the Royal School of Needlework. Her father made them for her, and they are fantastic little tools. In fact I generally seek out needlework items on trips so I get a “two-fer”: a souvenir that is useful and a needlework tool that reminds me of that special trip every time I use it.

Those MOP pieces are calling my name, so I’m glad you offered a link for purchasing in case I don’t win them!

Thanks for a very fun newsletter and instructive site. I wish you the most wonderful of new years!

Thank you, Mary for another generous giveaway. I am working on a Trish Burr project and would love to have the thread holders to keep all the different threads organized as I am constantly changing colors.
Thanks again,
Camille

My most favorite needlwork accessory is all my friends who keep me in wonderful fabrics, threads, embellishments and most of all; encouragement!! I don’t know what I would do without them – I never know what surprise is coming next!
Happy New Year everyone!

Hi Mary,
Once again thank you for the lovely give away it would be wonderful to win and a lovely start for the New Year. The accessory that I use the most is the Needle Minder, why you ask after years of always looking for my needle with the minder be it fancy or just a magnet I always know where to find it. Best wishes for health and happiness to you and yours Mary
Joan from Richmond BC

Just wanted to take the opportunity to wish you and yours a wonderful and Happy, healthy New Year, Mary.
I appreciate your wonderful contribution to stitching every single day and look forward to your postings.
I don’t live near a local stitching shop nor a local stitching group and you help me to keep in touch.

I have been following this website for about a year. I admire and envy the talent that produces the beautiful needlework shown here. I only have some DMC embroidery floss, a pair of stork scissors and some needles. You have me about ready to believe in myself enough to give something other than counted cross stitch and plain embroidery, think red work, a try, but I will have to tool up in order to do so with other threads and fabric.

I adore any sewing tool that is mother of pearl. There is something about the warmth of the pearl that totally appeals to me. I own none.

Right now, I am thinking of stitching for myself a pretty work case of some kind to hold my tools that will be a pleasure to use as I stitch.

Thank you for giving the lessons and for being so free with your knowledge.
Karen

Mary,
Thank you for the chance to win the wonderful items. I have yet to see a Trish Burr kit or book, but would love to learn thread painting. My favorite sewing item is a small fabric sewing book(to describe it) made by Froncie Quinn, of Hoopla Patterns in Essex Junction, VT. She actually makes them and they open up to contain pockets for my embroidery scissors, my thimble pack, felt pages that hold projects, pictures, needles, threads, and at the end there is a plastic zipper pouch. Then on the back side, there is a pocket that contains a metal sand paper board for copying patterns or drawing on fabric. It ties closed with ribbon and is so handy.
Thanks again for the opportunity to win.

My favorite notion is my laying tool. It is simple, inornate, stainless steel, perfectly balanced for my hand and I use it all the time. I can’t remember who manufactures it. I think I got it on the Lacis web site and I remember it being reasonably priced, compared to other websites, although I can’t remember what it cost.

The other notion I use all the time is what I call my needlework necklace. I made it myself. I keep a needleminder, threader and I thread my embroidery scissors on it. These are the things I’m always loosing and it keeps them all at hand.

I hope you have the best New Year you’ve ever had. Thanks for all you do. You have enlightened me many times and inspired me to try new materials and techniques. I love your video library of stitches!

Mary, The sight of all the thread colors you showed us the other day as you entered them in your thread journal amde me swoon. It’s the color that draws me to the needle/fabric arts. Well, shapes and lights, too. Oh heck, I just love it all! One accessory I’d really like to have is a beautiful needle keeper. Those pesky, pointy little needles love to hide in whatever chair on which I’m sitting or fall on the floor where they can hide with gleeful abandon. If I had a needle keeper, I’d at least have a chance of foiling my needles at their naughtiness! Thanks for giving us something special to look forward to in 2011! And thanks for the beauty you share with us. Noel

This is such a fantastic giveaway! Thanks so much for offering it! My favorite needlework tool is a natural light lamp with an attached magnifying glass. I love working with it, but I wish it was a clamp-on style lamp or something. Because it is a table lamp, I’m tied to my table or desk whenever I use it!

I think the tatting shuttles I inherited from my husband’s grandmother are my most prized needlework items – that is, if you call tatting needlework. I learned to tat a little bit just because I had them!

All purpose…my embroidery scissors which I seem to have misplaced somewhere. It’s probably in a UFO bag somewhere.

I would have to say that my pewter Ginger embroidery scissors are my FAV needlework tool (oh, and also my Ott light) They really save the day as my eyes are not that great at this stage of my life.
It would be so wonderful if someone could figure out a system to get embroidery floss to unspool easily. It always gets tangled and then toward the end of the skein the label with the no. falls off. It seems like such a simple thing that I can’t believe someone has not thought of a trick.
P.S. if you know one, please let me know.
Thanks for the giveway….
Happy New Year too.nettiecrain@live.com

My favorite tool right now is a quill from an African Porkypine. Its about 9 inches long, with a ferociously sharp back end and a blunt front end. I have never used thread keepers, but since discovering them on your blog, I must admit, I am entranced by the mother of pearl. Thanks for the great job you do! Marya

The one accessory I must have in order to stitch is my magnifying light. My eyes are becoming vintage, and that full-spectrum lighting and 3x enlargement keeps work pleasurable as opposed to eyestrain inducing.
I do lust after a slate frame. I don’t know why- I’ve never actually done a piece of embroidery large or complex enough to warrant one, but every time I see one mentioned I throw another batch of change into my “someday” jar.
I know it was either/or, but I tend to be an overachiever from time to time. 🙂
Kathy P in Pittsburgh

Nuovo anno felice, Mary! (Happy New Year, Mary!) What a wonderful year it’s been … especially since I found your blog and website. I wish I could explain to you how much you’ve helped my embroidery efforts and how much enjoyment I’ve gotten out of learning from you. Thank you so much for all your postings and encouraging words to those of us who love the fine art of embroidery.

My answer to your question about a favorite tool in my embroidery basket is simple … it’s a small, carved rosewood laying tool which belonged to my mother. She taught me to love hand work – most especially, embroidery. I was quite young when she began to teach me and it has given me countless hours of enjoyment throughout my life. I lost my mother over a year ago, and while I miss her so much every day, I still feel her with me each time I touch this laying tool. I love to picture her hand holding and using it, and it comforts me to remember that. I wouldn’t trade that tool for anything, but I do plan to pass it along to my daughter who is an outstanding needlewoman in her own right, and hope that she will give it to her daughter (my precious little granddaughter) when the time is right.

Thank you so much for giving everyone a chance to win another one of your wonderful give-aways, Mary. This is such fun!!!

I’m not sure if an embroidery stand is considered an “accessory”, but that’s what I would like most of all – especially after reading your reviews of the Needlework System 4 portable floor stand; it sounds like a dream come true. I’m trying to work on a piece on 16 x 16 inch stretcher bars, and it’s slow and cumbersome trying to do that without stand 🙁

Thank you for this wonderful giveaway. The thing that I like the most is the caddy I made for the arm of my chair. It has a place for every thing, even pins. I hope I win because I am just learning some of this stuff.Happy New Year.

Well such a wonderful gift, everything a girl could need(I really mean covet but I am really polite and would never admit to that)I love my Fiskars embroidery scissors given to me by Eldest Son some 20+years ago.I really would like the delightful Needle keeper as Dearest Husband does not always appreciate a stab in the chest when stealing a kiss from me, by a needle stored (all be it temporary) in my sweater.Thanks for all your work Happy New Year

Am so glad that I found your daily column……..it starts off my day (actually about noon each day) when I read the most thought provoking things, Some are completely unknown to me, and therefor so educational; others are different from my previous conceptions of a subject. As a Senior I find my stitching to be therapeutic , relaxing and stimulating at the same time Would love to add your give-away to my present stitching projects. My tools are all rather mundane, and on the less pricey side, so anything new is wonderful.

Thanks Mary for taking time to share all your expertise in needle arts. A tool I would love to have is one that would hold my threads for my project that I am working on. They seem to get all tangled and then I spend more time undoing instead of doing.
I have a number of great scissors that my mom had used for her stitching which I did receive after her passing. Some with round tips and some with great tips. It appears that scissors are the number favorite tool of all!
Thanks again Mary! Deb F

One of my favorite needlework tools is a tool designed to hold my pearl cotton balls. It has a top that comes off with a small hummingbird on it. The top comes off, you put your pearl cotton ball on the base and put the top back on, and no more ball of thread rolling across the floor. Plus you get to look at something artistic.

Ooo!
Let’s see. I’m new enough to the needlework world, but this year I bought mself a lap stand. It’s changed things for me immensely. My hands don’t tire as fast, I haven’t had any more repetitive strain injuries, And I can attach all my frames to it very easily!
Love the site!

My favourite needlework accessory is magnetic needle holder. What I would dearly love is an really good lamp – one that perhaps has a magnifier too.
Thanks for all your posts this year and have a great 2011.

Hi Mary,
I love all my accessories and I am always happy to find a new “toy”. One of my favorite and most indispensable accessories is my portable seat frame. I can take it everywhere and stitch comfortably.
Happy New Year!
Jeri

My favorite needlecraft tool is an old sterling silver thimble bought over 40 years ago as a gift. I have used it on every needle work project since – though not exclusively anymore it is starting to thin out. But I do work some portion of each project with it – I’m sentimental… The mother of pearl items would look beautiful in my sewing basket with my old well loved thimble.

I have slowly come to the realization that my needlework skills will not improve unless I break down and buy myself some better accessories. In the New Year, I will be investing in a better hoop and scissors.
Thank you for a wonderful year of informative posts. Happy New Year!

My favourite embriudeery tool is scissors! They come in all shapes and sizes and each has its own ability in terms of cutting. There ars long-bladed and short-bladed ones, There are smooth blades and serrated blades(one or both blades). Thaere are large and small scissors.There are heavy ones and light weighted ones. Each has its own little duty to perform in our needlework world! A person cannot have too many scissors!

I try to be organized with my needlework. When I buy a new design or see one that I want to do, I put the design, meterial needed, and threads in a large bag. I put a sticky note on the bag of anything that is missing so that I can know what I need to get. Then when I need a new project to do, I go shopping thru my project bags.

Hi Mary, Thankyou once again for your generosity to give away a Trish Burr kit, I received her Long and Short Embroidery book for Christmas from a special friend, your kit give away would compliment this book wonderfully. To resipticate this gift I would love a pair of Mother of Pearl embroidery scissors to give to my friend,
Happy New Year 😉

right now because of the weather my hand hurt soooo right now my favorite tool is my hoop stand…. and I would really love one of those magnatic needle minders..I really enjoy my daily dose of email…..Romona

My favorite tool is my Tres Claveles scissors with it’s fob attached. I can hang them from my needlework frame close in reach for when they are needed. I also rest them on my (blush)chest as I work with a hoop as I do not have a stand. I poke my needle in the fob while it waits for it’s new thread. I would like to get a stand to hold my hoops while I embroider so I can use two hands.

What a wonderful giveaway. If I could have anything for needlework it would be one of those stands that sits in front of you that has the embroidery hoop on it that you can adjust to the height you want it.

Hi from New Zealand. i think the most useful and valuable thing that I have is my computer as there has been many a time that i have sat in front of it with my stitching and your stitch video running, going over and over a stitch until i have it correct. I love all the little tools but your video library is just the best thing to help me in my craft. Happy New Year to all.

My favorite needlework tool is the knowledge I get from books written on needle work. I am sure the books are classed as accessory, but to me they are my tools. With out them I would be lost with only knowing straight stitches and back stitches. As for accessories, well, other than what odds and ends I have to hold my many needles in various places around the house… I only have one main location I call my craft area and that is a desk with a couple boxes that are “piled/filled” with items in hopes to keep the 4 yr old son out of them.

My favorite tool is the best needle for the job. It makes such a difference in a persons work.
Happy New Year to you and I also hope to get organized. Again. Every time I get organized I cant find anything so I have to go buy another one and then I have “piles” again.

The needlework accessory I would like to have the most, even fact, the one I really Need, is a magnifior that is on a stand so I don’t have to try & hang on to it. The ones that go around your neck won’t work for me, I’ve already tried that. I ned to be able to have one that stands alone, so I can make better use of my hands. I have the worse kind of MS, & can’t see that well anymore or use my hands as well, so I really need that kind of magnifior. Luv the prizes you are giving away. Thank you all you bloggers who have give aways. For some of us, that’s the only way we can get things besides RAAKs. Thanks & hope you have a good 2011.

My favorite tool is a bit embarrassing to admit. I was in an antique store one day and spotted a gold thimble, not gold colored…gold. I asked to see it. It had beautiful raised vines around the bottom edge and was engraved with a name above the vines. The name, my grandmother’s first name. I slipped it on my finger and it fit like a glove. I had just had a yard sale the previous weekend and had the money in my pocket. It cost almost every penny I had earned, but it was so dear and I was enchanted. Yes, needless to say I bought it and I use it. What good is having such a thing of beauty and not fully enjoy it.
Debbie

Hi Mary!
It’s always been very exciting to get a give away from you and unfortunately i didn’t get yet.But i will try again and again till i get it.
My favourite tool is hoop that gives my work a better finishing. Thank YOU mary for providing all of us a lot of opportunities to win such wonderful things.

What a lovely give away again Mary. I wish you and your family a very happy New Year.
My favourite accessory is my metal needle threader, it makes a big difference in the time it takes me to thread a needle. I would love to have a magnetic needle holder as I often misplace my needles when changing colors and they end up on the floor sometimes.

I love my embroidery scissor keeper. My Mum made it for me, she is very creative and crafty and I think that’s where I get my love of all things fabric and thread! It is a rich red fabric with beading on the outside with gold velvet lining to keep my scissors well protected. What’s so great about it is that it can’t fall down the crack in the couch! I have lost so many needlework objects in my couch it’s scary, from crochet hooks to tapestry needles (which I found with my backside stuck in the cushion!) I should make a New Year’s resolution to get into the back of my couch somehow and retrieve 4 year’s worth of goodies!

My favorite tool in my sewing apparatus is my seam ripper! Have to say I use it more than I would like to, but we have made friends with each other over the years. I would love to win something from you and painting with threads is something I have never done… It is such beautiful work, I know I would love it, or I will frustrate myself with my wonderful and friendly “seam ripper.”

I have to say, the most important tool is my pair of clip on magnifiers for my glasses! They let me see the work!!! As long as needle and thread can find the spot in the fabric to pierce, I am good to go!
I have a beautiful wooden Shaker style needlelwork box that was handcrafted in the Finger Lake Region of New York State that I treasure.

but, what I’d love to have…ah…I don’t even know if it exists, but a mother of pearl laying tool. I love the feel of mother of pearl, the connection to needlework history and watching it help me lay my stitches straight.

Oh, and wouldn’t it be wonderful for all of us if a furniture designer would design a chair or chaise that would support our backs and arms correclty yet give us comfort and joy as we stitch…your tools on a small table nearby with great light, music…ah…..fire in the fireplace optionall…oh, and don’t forget the flowers!

My favourite needlework tool would be my computer. I design my own embroideries using Excel and Pattern Maker. The computer lets me try out different ideas and I can save the design, make corrections and write the instructions before having to do the actual stitching. It has saved me countless hours as I work through problems. If it doesn’t work on the computer first, it won’t work with fabric and thread.

What beautiful thread keepers, but my favorite is the peacock needleminder. My favorite tool is a little ivory thread layer that was my grandmother’s. But I really crave that little peacock, and I would actually use it instead of just looking at my thread layer.

I desperately need and want an Ott light! Sure didn’t need it before I turned 60, but now it’s come to pass…I NEED MORE LIGHT! (not yelling…just empathizing lol). The needle painting kit is just gorgeous! Thanks for your site…just found it today.

My favorite needlework accessory is well i have two. My needle minder and my standing work light with magnifier.
It makes cross stitching so much easier. The thread keeps, rings, and winder will also help me allot.
Happy Holidays
Nicole

Lovely kit. My favorite tool, if you can call it a tool, is a 6″ x 3 1/2″ plastic slotted thread box. There’s one compartment larged enough for the scissors. I can have all the colors that I’m working with in one spot and it’s small enough to take with. I have had it for at least 20 years.

Hi Mary,
Happy New Year and thank you again for an awesome give-a-way. My favorite needlework accessory is my old OTT light. Without good light I cannot see my stitches clearly. My second favorite accessory is good lotion to keep my hands from sticking to silk thread. My favorite is Utter Cream because it leaves no residue on my hands that could attach to my thread.

I love my little needle book. I bought it several years ago after finally accepting that I wasn’t ever going to make one for myself, and I’ve never regretted it. I have a page for blunt embroidery needles, one for sewing needles, one for beading needles and the back for straight pins. I even cut slits in one page to slip my scissors in when I take my project on the road.

My favorite tool is my grandmothers hoop. I love the idea of my hands following hers, and i hope that someday i will have a granddaughter to pass it down to. i have a small basket for my scissors and threads and will add my own tools to this to pass down so the traditional arts are not lost but rather given to the next generations for safe keeping!

The tool I would luv to have the ost (need( is a magnifer that you sit on(with MS my eyesight keeps changing) & the one I already have, but need more off, is floss winders. Luv the look of your heart accessories. Karen Carroll

My favourite accessory is the floor standing tapestry/needlework frame that my brother made for me many decades ago. How nice of him to surprise me with such a great present, made from a picture, and its much sturdier than some of the ones you see in shops. Always think of him when I use it.

Love to be in the draw, the thread winders are just so cute, and would be very handy for those projects which only use a few threads, making it easier to stay untangled when taking projects travelling.

Hi Mary,
I love slate frames and have one in just about every size, but I’d really love a slate frame stand. Whatever happened to the stand you were reviewing? But getting to a more realistic tool, I love needlebooks. They hold all my needles safe and sound in a pretty package. They are easy to make and indivualize, so they make great gifts to yourself or someone else.But now that I have my needles safe and sound I need to find a way to organize my threads for projects.

Best wishes in the new year and I’ll be reading your blog daily.Many thanks
Elaine

My favourite needlework tool is my awl for silkribbon embroidery. Thank-you for the opportunity to participate in this contest. I must be doing something wrong as I do not see my name each time I enter a contest, if this is a double I am so sorry. Happy New Year and I do love your blog, it is so informative for those of us who cannot get out to get the best in instructors.

Hi Mary! While I’m not sure I could do without a good light these days and a magnifier is also a help, one of my favourite tools is called a Dololly. I’ve had it almost as long as I’ve been stitching. It has what looks like a heavy duty needle threader on one end and a hook attached to the other end with a little chain. The hook is used to pull thread through the threader part. It’s used to finish off threads that are too short for a needle. I’ve also used it to fix snags on sweaters. Mine is silver though I believe there was also a gold version.
Tina from Melbourne.

Hi Mary, I was so grateful for the deadline as I’ve only just come back from visiting relatives on an internet-free farm 🙂
I’d love to have thread rings, and an awl/implement for frogging. My stash is slowly increasing but as I attempt more colours per project managing threads is becoming more difficult. And, of course, I’m frogging regularly ^_^

Thank you very much for your awesome website and all your hard work that goes into making the awesome! May your 2011 be fantastic beyond your wildest dreams; filled with love and laughter; and blessed beyond imagining!
Tessa Silberbauer

I absolutely cannot stitch without a good, tight frame (either wooden that you tack together for canvas or Q-snaps for fabric) and my trusty laying tool (actually, it’s just a big darning needle with a thread tied through the eye to make it easier to find). And I love having a magnet on my work to park needles, needle threaders (also invaluable – the kind with the hook, not a loop you have to thread through), and my laying tool.

Thank you for providing us such a wonderful website – can’t wait to watch the new-and-improved stemstitch video. Also can’t wait to see what you’re stitching with those gorgeous silks you showed us last week. Happy New Year! Janet (who this time read the “5 a.m.” part of your deadline, instead of assuming it said “5 p.m.”!)

Hi Mary,
Happy New Year! My favorite needlework accessory is my bobbin winder. I keep all my DMC cotton embroidery floss (all I have right now, but I’m dying to branch out to other fibers) wound on cardboard or plastic bobbins that I keep in four divided plastic boxes. Its really handy, since I write the color numbers on the bobbins and the thread stays organized to the very end. The bobbin winder fits over the end of one of the boxes and makes winding the thread on the bobbin quick and easy.
I’ve done a lot of counted cross stitch and some crewel work, but I’ve never tried needle painting. Thanks for giving us a chance to win such a beautiful kit

Mary,
I love the beautiful Kelmscott accessories as well as another chance at the Trish Burr thread painting kit. Thank you! You are very generous.
My friend in the sewing guild has a wonderful pair of tiny embroidery scissors which cut well all the way to the tips. Perfect for our silk embroidery work. This is what I covet! Aren’t we weird?!
I wish you and your family nothing but the very best for the New Year. Thanks for your newsletter. It makes my day.
Yours in stitches,
Helen Bressler

Hi Mary, I think my favorite Embroidery tools are my cute little pink scissors that always lay in my cloth coil woven pink & turquoise basket. I then have a beautiful wool needle felted Sheep that watches over my ongoing work.
Hopefully when my Grandtr. watches me embroider, these beautiful things inspire her also.
I would love a chance to be included in your giveaway Thanks for all you do.

Dear Mary, I have so many favorite sewing tools but I think my absolute favorite tools are my two beautiful Scottie dogs Meggie and Paddy. You may smile at this as they are not really tools, but I have sewn for nearly forty years and over the years I have rescued many dogs and have helped them heal from the injustices of thier former lives by sitting with them peacefully and embroidering. Every afternoon if I am not working I sit with my recent two additions to the family and listen to the afternoon play on the radio. They sit contentedly with me and I know that with my contentment, they two are at peace with the world and then I know I have done a good job in bringing peace and happines to thier lives. Happy New Year to you all.

Ah, Mary, you caught my attention with the Trish Burr kit. She is one of my favorite embroidery designers. As for the tool I would like to have, that would be a pair of Kai Scissor, which I would use for stumpwork. Thanks forthe opportunity to win your giveaway, and thanks to Trish Burr, too. Happy New Year to you both.

Hi Mary, my favorite stitching tool is a very small pair of scissors that were my grandmother’s. Even after all these years, they are still very sharp and have a nice point on them. I never got to see my grandmother do any needlework, but I have been given a special gift that means so much to me.

Thank you for your website and daily email. I look forward to reading it every day. Happy 2011!

My favorite needlework tool is a laying tool. I am very interested in learning thread painting and have recently acquired a copy of Jenny McKinneys Bunny book. I am anxious to see if the tool is usefull for this technique as I mostly use it for picture smocking. A sit on hoop would be awesome to have but may be difficult to store in my limited space. I learn so much from your site. Thank you.

Hi Mary, I’ve been away for a few days but I am so pleased that I have not missed this opportunity to have another go at winning this Trish Burr embroidery. Thanks to you and Trish for your generousity.

So my favourite tool. That has to be my tekobari, it has become like an extension of my finger and I could not imagine stitching without now.

I have many favorite tools. It depends on the project I’m working on. If I were to prioritise the tools, i would say that my laying tool which is a large darning needle is my favorite. I change the size of the needle depending on the thread or fibre I’m working with. So to answer the second question, I would like a laying tool that is comfortable and and easy to manage while stitching.

My favorite gagdet is my antique pair of stork scissors. I love the long beak (which are the scissor blades) for cutting out my mistakes!! Boy do they get a work out. LOL Thank you for the Lovely things you are gifting.

Thank you Mary for such a wonderful giveaway! My favorite tool for embroidery would be my frame, I can put it down any time & pick it up to continue later. Also, I can wind a larger piece & keep it taught at all times!

I thought long and hard about what tool or accessory was my favorite as they all seem so precious to me. It might not be the most glamorous choice, but at the end of the day, I cannot think of anything that is more vital than a good pair of scissors. A good pair must stay sharp enough to allow you to do everything from clipping simple embroidery threads to actually cutting away material as in Hardanger. They must also fit your hand comfortably. Dare I say that an older pair may even be better, as they are already “worn in”. There are two pairs of scissors that were so special to me. I had a lovely pair of embroidery scissors with their matte gray finish, scrolled handle design and hand-sewn leather case. I attached them to a ribbon for ease of use. Sadly, I lost this pair in a fire years ago and I have been on the hunt for a replacement ever since. The other pair I covet is my great-grandmother’s shears. They are straight and true, just like my great-grandmother. And would you believe that even though I have used them to make a stack of quilts, they have never needed sharpening!

Hi Mary,
Since I am kind of new to needlework I think my favorite tool are my scissors. I am not sure what brand they are but after having several pair of dull scissors I have come to realize that a good pair of scissors are a must have.

Hi Mary,
I viewed the new stem stitch video. Just what this newbie needed to see. I asked and recieved a light with a magnifer for Christmas, so today that is my favorite accessory. I would like some quality needles, but first I need to do some research to learn what kind is best and which to use for each stitch, thread, and material.
Although I am not qualified to do a needle painting project, I hope to be someday. I know the winner will enjoy the kit and accessories. Your emails are like a daily present that I look forward to opening everyday. Thank you for all you continue to do for your readers.
Marsha in Central IL

Hi Mary, I just found your website a few months ago and have spent so much time reading and watching the wonderful vidoes! Now it’s back to stitching. I would love a good floor lamp that would give me the light I need and not bother others or my husband in the room and the TV during football games. Men just don’t understand why the lamp has to be no high! I also love my wool sewing tri-fold that holds all my ‘to go’ things I need that is kept in a small basket to take when we travel. Gloria

Hi Mary, Happy New Year! Lovely stitch videos! I would love to have a laying tool. I actually have one, but I’d like a smaller, more delicate and pretty one – like some of the old, old ones I’ve seen. I’m sure it would help me make even better stitches. Thanks for your great website! Lynn S.

Mary,
I love your site. I believe you are in Kansas, where my son and family live. I’m very partial, of course. My favorite tool is a needle minder w. some sentiment to it. I’ll tell you more , if I win. I love Trish Burr’s work and been needing to try “long and short stitch” painting.
thank you,
ebaker

My favourite accessory was an embroidery hoop which was my mother’s….(u must be wondering why the past tense) because it broke.I recently came to UK from India (with my family as my husband got a job here) and when i unpack i find it broken.I was so used to it( like a pet dog who is always near u) i dont seem to like my new one.I didnt feel like throwing it away and is still with me.

Hi Mary
first of all, I want to wish you a happy new year! Thank you for all the wonderful work you share with us on this website.
As for a needlework accessory that I would really need (more with every passing day, alas!): a nice magnifying glass with integrated light, something like the one you reviewed a few weeks ago. For now, I can somehow manage without (just), but I suppose I will have to splash out on such a thing sometime in the near future!
Thanks for everything
Tina

Hi Mary,
Sewing in all forms,has long interested me and been part of my life.Embroidery,in particular has held a special facination, from a child,learning the different techniques.
A small pair of stalk shaped scissors is my favourite tool.
I would love to win the give away.
Thank for all your inspirations.
Happy New Year to all.
Joan.

Happy New Year, Mary!
At the moment the accessory, which I need the most, is some special scissors for handarger. I am looking for them in different shops. But which one to choose? I have a very big problem. If I could buy many, it would be easier. But they cost and I do not need some 10 or 20 pairs of scissors just to try. I need only one pair. But good.

My favorite needlework accessory is my storage containers. I love new sharp needles, but even, especially actually, those need a certain place for storage. I have found these little CraftMates Lockables to be very handy – I have a large and medium sized box which is divided into 7 compartments which open individually with a slide of a locking bar. Plus they are inexpensive and easy to find at my closest “big box” store. Now I don’t have to worry about spilling beads all over the floor, or my husband stepping on a needle that has gotten lost on my project and fallen to the floor… how he always has the misfortune to step on it I’ll never know – the poor thing! Thank you for your posts. you do beautiful work – very inspiring.

Oh, Mary, what a treat this giveaway is! Well, what I would really LOOOOVE to have is a Needlework System 4 floor frame. I seem to be gravitating to BAPs a lot lately – huge SALs and my adored Chatelaine projects – and a good floor frame would be a help. Hands down, this is the frame that all Chatelaine stitchers love and your review is favorable, too! My most desired needlework accessory, if I could have any in the world. I would haovever, gladly take your giveaway and feel great happiness!
Katherine M. in Austin, TX.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Thank you for all the inspiration over the past year. My favorite tool is the magnifying light I received for Christmas. After your review, I asked Santa for it. Can finally see. I am still a novice at embroidery, but continue to improve. Your newsletter is a daily treat. Linda

As I begin to learn to embroider, my favorite accessory is the clever lady sitting by my side or looking over my shoulder encouraging me: you. I think of you as a dear friend, and so look forward to our “visits.” I am learning much from you. Thank you for all you share in your postings.

If you need a tangible answer, the tool/accessory I would most like to have is a pair of embroidery scissors. At present I have to “borrow” my smaller sewing scissors or the cuticle scissors. I’ve been told that the right tool makes all the difference!

Thank you for your generous giveaway offer of the thread painting kit and needle working accessories. The mother-of -pearl accessories are lovely, and they would be so useful; the embroidery project would be a delightful challenge. Many thanks to Trish Burr for her generosity as well.

Happy New Year and thank you for the wonderful supportive web site this past year! As a newish needler I use your site often to help me figure out what to do. My favorite accessory is a seam ripper – I have several but I really like the sharpest one I can grab. Because I am learning I really use it a lot! I used to become frustrated and angry at having to rip – but I see others more advanced than me ripping away so I’ve come to love my seam ripper and I realize that it is my best friend!

Forgot to add my favorite tool to use. I have several but I think the all time favorite of mine would be my little book of warm and natural batting (make like a book with pages) of batting, to use for my embroidery needles> I made the Cover with blue corduroy and I can leave several needles in it at once, all threaded with my colors I am using on a particular project, and don’t have to rethread a needle to change colors. My second would be a needle threader!! I’d be lost without this little tool! What a great invention!

Happy Holidays! My favorite needlework accessory is simple, and indispensable, once you try one … a nice little Gingher embroidery scissors, with a very fine serrated blade. Catches slippery silk ribbons, threads and fibers so you can make more accurate cuts; wonderful! If you can’t find one locally, you can go to their website for instructions on sending in your pair to have the serrations put on the blade for a few dollars; very reasonable.

Hi Mary! I am fond of scissor, I have a little collection of every size, I have received them in the time as present, I am very proud of it. I love your web site Even if, I spend the little free time that I have (two small children…) reading your blog and attempting to stitch your projects, love Manuela

hi mary
i m from india.i really like ur website.i m a newstater in emroidery and your site is a great inspiration for me.i like to keep my basic things handy in any project.so in my opinion needle organizer is one thing i find most useful.especiaaly for young mothers like me who has 2 young and restless boys who keep on disorganizing whatever i organize.everything they want to touch and explore is ok with me except needles.one can never imagine what all they can do with this miniature tool.so,needle organizer is the best device to keep needles and my boys both safe.